How to Fix the Dark Universe: Part 2 (The Universe)

Part 1

Now that we've figured out the basics of what the Dark Universe actually is as a franchise, let's take this installment to flesh out the universe itself and figure out what the over-arching story is.

Universal is actually at something of a disadvantage here. Unlike Marvel or DC, which has decades of material to draw from and who could basically just port their universe as is over from the comics to the movies, the Dark Universe doesn't have as strong a foundation. Yes, there are the original films from the 30s and 40s, but those were made in a very different time when worldbuilding and continuity were still nascent ideas. Since there have also been tons of knockoffs and adaptations of this same material by other studios which have had influence on the popular perception of the Monsters. It's all kind of a jumbled mess. Everyone has an idea of who Dracula is, of what a werewolf and a mummy is, and perhaps they even know some of the rules, but the specifics are fuzzy.

That's a challenge to overcome, for sure, but it also presents an opportunity. Because the specifics are fuzzy, it leaves us to set the specifics in people's mind. We can take everything that's iconic about the brand and distill it into the platonic ideal of itself. Like what Grant Morrison did with Superman in All-Star Superman.


Let's set the scene then. We already decided last time that these were period movies, the turn of the century to be specific. We'll lean into that. It's the dawning of a new era, one caught between the past and the future. On one side, we have the superstition and dark magics of the past that put humans at their mercy. Dark and inhuman. On the other, we have the mad science and blind devotion to progress of the future that holds no regard for morality. Cold and sadistic. In the middle is caught the human race, the majority of which are unaware of the horror the new century will bring or how pervasive the influence of both the past and the future are. There's a feeling in the air, one full of dread and millennial anxiety (millennial in the original sense of apocalyptic, not the generation of kids from the 90s and early oughts).

There will be so many women fleeing
from haunted houses in their night gowns.

Just to be clear, there isn't an actual magic vs. science war going with like different armies and stuff. It's more of an existential conflict which influences character's motivations and the specific horror of each monster. I really bring up as more of a way to categorize things and differentiate the different parts of the universe. For example, the original Iron Man movie helped establish the more grounded, realistic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, whereas the first Thor movie helped establish the more fantastic and out there side of it. Same thing here and it helps build off the two foundations of the whole Gothic Horror Monster Movie milieu the Dark Universe is updating, Dracula and Frankenstein. Dracula is the more ancient, more magical side of the Dark Universe, Frankenstein is the more modern (well, modern for the Victorian era) and mad science side of it, and all the other monsters can get slotted into either camp. Not that they won't clash or crossover at all, that's the whole reason you make the Dark Universe, they're just not on opposing teams like Autobots and Decepticons.

So what is the conflict then? What is the overarching story we follow in the fringes of each movie and comes to a head in the big crossover? Because that's what you've got to build up to. As good as any of the individual films are, cinematic universes are all about crossover films. They're the whole point getting all your popular characters together in one movie to make the most money. You've got to build to the big crossover movie. In the case of the Dark Universe, the crossover movie is obvious: you do the big Monster Mash. But a crossover still needs a story, you need protagonists and antagonists. It can't just be a big fight. Luckily, we have one of the greatest villains of all time to start from.

When I started this little thought experiment, one thing about the construction of the speculative Dark Universe was obvious to me. Dracula = Thanos. He's the big bad, the ultimate threat, the one we spend the majority of the other movies building up to. Dracula is the most well-known, the most powerful, and the one who we can make the most irredeemably evil. That decision has really helped me construct the rest of this. Because if Dracula is our Thanos, than his adversaries can be our Nick Fury and SHIELD. From that, we have a conflict for our big crossover. Each of the monsters from the individual films can be recruited to either Dracula's side to achieve some awful end, or the heroes' side to stop whatever that is. It's rough but it's something we can build off of. It also leads to figuring out who some of the major players of the Dark Universe will be, the ones who can move from movie to movie and keep the pieces moving toward the crossover. Here are the four I would be using, all from Dracula.

Mina Harker in League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen. We're keeping the red
scarf.

Mina Harker: If the Dark Universe has a main character or the equivalent to Captain America, it would be Mina Harker. She is basically the protagonist of the original novel. My version of Mina didn't just go back to her normal life after her encounter with the vampire, she became Van Helsing's apprentice. Dark Universe Mina is a first-rate monster hunter, keeping abreast of any supernatural happenings and traveling to offer her assistance. Sometimes that means helping defeat evil creatures like the Mummy and sometimes it means showing support to more tragic monsters like the Wolf Man. Basically, whenever the characters of the individual films need help, Mina's there and will be the first to try to bring people into the larger fight against Dracula. As for casting, I'd go for a dark-haired actress more known for indie movies than blockbusters, someone looking to expand their profile and find a lucrative franchise. I'll probably be eviscerated for the suggestion, but Kristen Stewart or someone like her is the idea in my head.

Van Helsing: If Mina's Captain America, then Van Helsing is Nick Fury. He's the guy keeping the bigger picture in mind and whenever he actually shows up, which should be brief and rare outside the crossovers, the audience knows it's important. Again, he's the iconic image of Van Helsing that Peter Cushing helped create, the veteran monster hunter. While vampires are his specialty, he's well-versed with other monsters too. I like the idea that in The Wolf Man or Creature from the Black Lagoon movies, things get so bad for the heroes that Mina has to call in Van Helsing. Then he deals with the immediate danger no problem, gives them the solution to beat the monster with very specific instruction, and then leaves because he has bigger things to deal with. Only for the heroes to immediately screw up his instructions. Casting wise, I'd stick with a Peter Cushing or Anthony Hopkins in the Coppola film type. An older, probably Oscar-winning actor who's never really done big blockbusters before, like Liam Neeson before Taken. Heck, you could even make Van Helsing a woman and cast someone like Helen Mirren. That'd be great.

Renfield: In the novel, Renfield is basically Dracula's brainwashed human minion. He doesn't actually do much besides be creepy and eat spiders, but I feel there's room for opportunity with the character. In my Dark Universe, Renfield plays the same recruiter and assistant role for the bad monsters and villains that Mina plays for the heroes. His face should be the primary representation of Dracula's side of the conflict. Renfield also plays comic relief with just how weird Dracula has made him, so he could also add some humor to his appearances. It's a very specific type of humor though, one where you're laughing both from actual mirth and from how creeped out you are by him. Like Renfield's this brainwashed dude who kind of acts like Gollum and eats bugs and loves his vampire master. He's like Peter Macnicol in Ghostbusters 2. I think this would be a great part for a comedic actor to do something different. Joe Lo Truglio from Brooklynn 99 or Taran Killam from Saturday Night Live would be perfect for this role.

There'd be a lot of 70s Marvel Dracula
to our Dracula as well.

Dracula: I would treat Dracula like the Mother in How I Met Your Mother. We'd cast an actor for him early on and give hints of him, a stray voice here or a swish of cape there, but never actually show his face until we got to the actual Dracula movie. He wouldn't be alone either. After he got his ass-kicked in his own movie (which we'll get more into in Part 3), the Count has been busy gathering other monsters to... do something. No one is quite sure what, just that it's bad and will be the plot of the big Monster Mash movie. But yes, this is more of a Castlevania Dracula. Master of both ancient magic and mad science, though he's somewhat uncomfortable with the latter. Again, Dracula is the Thanos of the Dark Universe. He's got to have the power to match. As for casting, I'd aim for not quite middle-aged and vaguely European, in the mold of Mads Mikkelsen. He's got to be sexy, but dark and dangerous. Our Dracula should make people want to sleep with him as much as they hate him.

One thing that needs to be clear though is that this is not an equal fight. None of that Prodigium bullshit that tanked the Tom Cruise Mummy movie. Mina, Van Helsing, and whoever else are vastly outnumbered by Dracula's forces. Because the Count doesn't just have Renfield and whatever other monsters he recruits on his side, he has a whole cadre of cultists working with him. An army of Renfields (again, not literally). In my mind, having our heroes be a pretty small group in the face of a larger force works better from the standpoint of horror. They're alone and isolated in this fight and can't go to the authorities for help. The cops or the government would be useless or worse, infiltrated by Dracula. It's your standard slasher movie dynamic but on a grander scale. It also means that just because Dracula and his team of big-name monsters gets beaten in the crossover, whatever their ultimate plot was can be continued leading to further developments down the road. But what is that ultimate goal? Taking over the world? Summoning Satan? Awakening Cthulhu? Really, it could be anything that fits the horror mold of the universe but you see the possibilities right?

There's another aspect of the Universal Monsters and Horror Movies in general I think this speculative Dark Universe could take advantage of. I think we should have a majority of our non-monster protagonists and main heroes, because the monsters are usually villains, be women. Horror already has a strong tradition of strong female leads and let's face it, a lot of these monsters have "interesting" relationships with women. Dracula's a supernatural sexual predator, the Mummy is always trying to resurrect his dead girlfriend, the Phantom of the Opera is a nightmare of a possessive "nice guy" boyfriend, and Mr. Hyde is a straight up rapist. Having a Male Monster/Female Hero dynamic going throughout the Universe would help mitigate some of those issues and provide a strong visual identity for the brand. The Dark Universe is where ladies fight monsters. We wouldn't have to do it for every movie, and just because we have a female hero doesn't mean she has to be a Sarah Connor weapon-toting badass, but it's another way the Dark Universe can set itself apart.

Okay, we've got a setting, a tone, something of an over-arching story, and a few characters to carry it through the different individual films. Come back next time, dear reader, for Part 3 where I will lay out my thoughts on those individual films themselves.