Tom Cruise’s The Mummy reboot tried and failed to kick off a new cinematic universe – and came at the expense of a planned Dracula Untold sequel. Shared universes became all the rage during the 2010s, with studios rushing to recreate the unprecedented success of the MCU. Only a handful of these took off though, such as Warner Bros’ Monsterverse, while others – such as Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword – sunk like stones. One of the more embarrᴀssing examples came with 2017’s The Mummy, which Universal proclaimed to be the start of their “Dark Universe”.
This would have seen the studio dust off its classic monsters saga and put new coats of paint on Dracula, The Invisible Man, Frankenstein and others. The Mummy’s ending certainly set up a sequel and other spinoffs, but despite being a modest hit, the film was a critical disaster and Universal quietly canceled plans for further movies. The 2017 film just didn’t work, and even lacked the charms of the Brendan Fraser Mummy movies. The Mummy is considered the only real Dark Universe outing, though Dracula Untold originally held that crown.
The Mummy Replaced Dracula Untold As The First Movie In The Dark Universe
Dracula Untold went through reshoots to tie it into the Dark Universe
Alex Kurtzman was hired to oversee Universe’s shared monsters universe and would go on to direct The Mummy. Prior to this, Dracula Untold was sH๏τ as a standalone project, but during post-production it was decided to film new scenes that could position it as the start of the Dark Universe (via THR). This included a new ending that established Luke Evans’ anti-hero Dracula still existed in the modern day. Charles Dance was also added during reshoots as a Master Vampire character who could potentially serve as a connecting character (ala Sam Jackon’s Nick Fury) between movies.
Dracula Untold originally featured Charlie Cox as a vampire version of Caligula, who turns Evan’s Vlad into Dracula; his role was completely replaced by Charles Dance during reshoots.
It should be noted that there was great uncertainty about Dracula Untold’s place in Universal’s plans. A rep for the studio denied it was the launch of the Dark Universe, though the reshoots made it clear the studio was hedging its bets in case the film became a hit. Instead, Dracula Untold did modest business, grossing $217 million worldwide. When The Mummy was gearing up for release in June 2017, Kurtzman backed away from the notion of Dracula Untold being part of the series (via Digital Spy).
I’m a huge fan of Luke Evans. I think he’s brilliant. Talk about a guy with range – he can do anything. I think we have a plan for Dracula that may be a little different than the kind of story that was told in Dracula Untold. So, anything’s possible, but I think we have a slightly different idea for Dracula in mind.
Given Dracula Untold’s lukewarm reception, it probably made sense to Universal not to commit to making Evans’ Drac part of their planned universe. It also made sense to position Tom Cruise’s The Mummy as the official, splashy launch of the saga – though Untold is easily the better movie.
The Mummy’s Box Office Performance Meant The End Of The Dark Universe
Johnny Depp’s The Invisible Man remains unseen
One of the biggest pieces of hubris surrounding the Dark Universe saga was an image the studio released of its planned star line-up. This featured Mummy stars Cruise, Russell Crowe and Sofia Boutella, alongside Johnny Depp (who was cast in The Invisible Man) and Javier Bardem, with the latter being in talks for Frankenstein’s Monster. This was a last minute effort to build hype for the Dark Universe, but the response to The Mummy made it clear it was a doomed effort. The Mummy bombed domestically but still managed to gross $410 million overseas (via The Numbers).
The reboot wasn’t an outright bomb, but since it was clear there was no genuine excitement for Universal’s shared monsters universe, projects like Bride of Frankenstein were killed in development. The Mummy’s failure to recoup its production budget was likely a killing blow to the franchise’s future, and the film would have needed to be an unambiguous success for Universal to pursue further installments. The film was an obvious case of the cart pulling the horse, but it didn’t help that The Mummy remake was an awkward, uncooked slog of a blockbuster.
Universal Has Focused On Standalone Monster Movies Since The Dark Universe’s Failure
Universal ditched the blockbuster approach
One of the more baffling creative decisions surrounding Universal’s approach to The Mummy and its Dark Universe is that they wanted to make straight-ahead action blockbusters. That goes against the fundamental core of the majority of those monsters, and while the Fraser Mummy movies had plenty of action, they wisely kept the horror element too. Following The Mummy 2017, Universal decided to tap into the genre’s roots instead and focused on standalone monster flicks such as Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man and 2025’s Wolf Man.
Reviews for Renfield, The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Abigail were broadly positive, but only the latter was a financial success…
The former was both a critical and commercial hit, with Whannell using the concept to explore themes like domestic violence. Unfortunately, Wolf Man was a less successful attempt to reimagine that iconic creature – in every meaning of the word. Universal has also made no less than three attempts at reinventing Dracula in recent years with Renfield (starring Nicolas Cage as The Count), The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and Abigail. Reviews for all three were broadly positive, but only Abigail was a financial success.
In 2025, Guillermo del Toro will fulfill a lifelong dream with his Frankenstein adaptation for Netflix. This cast Oscar Isaac as the тιтular scientist, alongside Jacob Elordi as the Monster while Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz appear in supporting parts. A new monster movie from del Toro is always something to look forward to, but considering Frankenstein is a true pᴀssion project, it should be one of the year’s best horror movies. Whether it will inspire more classic monster movies is another question. The critical and box office success of Nosferatu won’t hurt on that front either.
Dracula Untold Getting A Sequel Would Have Been Better Than The Mummy Reboot
The rest of Dracula’s tale went untold
Dracula Untold was a flawed film that aspired to be a reinvention of the character, a historical action adventure, a horror film and several other genres at once. It never gelled together the way it should have, but Luke Evans was undeniably great in the lead, and a sequel exploring Vlad’s slide into the dark side held a lot of potential. Looking back, a Dracula Untold sequel might have been a better starting point; a follow-up could have explored how Dracula fit into the modern world while laying tendrils for future Dark Universe outings like The Mummy or Frankenstein.
Better yet, having a sequel where Dracula fought one of the Universal Monsters could have set up the interconnected nature of the series. Despite not being officially connected, it feels like Dracula Untold 2 was canned to make way for The Mummy, which is a pity. Evans had a more complex, human take on the famous bloodsucker, and the original film, despite its issues, could have been an intriguing launchpad for further movies. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
Source: THR, Digital Spy, The Numbers
