8 Characters Who Need To Appear in Universal’s Dark Universe (And Who Should Play Them)

It's not just superheroes who get their own cinematic universes anymore. Universal is about to get into the game by launching their collection of gothic monsters into a new shared movie franchise. As recently revealed, it's officially called Dark Universe and will kick off with The Mummy. Starring Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Sofia Boutella, the film will rise from its tomb on June 9th, and make no mistake about it, there will be plenty more where that came from. The following movie will be Bride of Frankenstein, starring Javier Bardem as Frankenstein's Monster and directed by Bill Condon. Johnny Depp is also on board to play the Invisible Man in a separate project, while other films floating around will focus on the Wolf Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Van Helsing. Anyone wondering whether a bunch of monsters can carry their own shared universe should look to the original Universal Monsters franchise that ran throughout the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Drawing from those many, many movies, we've come up with eight characters we'd like to see turn up in Dark Universe. And while we're at it, we've also suggested some actors who would be perfect to play them, too. Take a look at our picks and as always, be sure to share your thoughts with us in the comments section down below. 8) Dr. Pretorius - Ian McKellen The Character: Dr. Pretorius might not be a household name like most of other guys and gals on this list, but he's a hugely important character in 1935's Bride of Frankenstein. Introduced as Henry Frankenstein's former mentor, it's he who goads the doctor into making the Monster a mate. Yes, the character is even more of a mad scientist than the original mad scientist. Played with OTT relish by British character actor Ernest Thesiger, Pretorius absolutely steals the show away from both Boris Karloff's Monster and Colin Clive's Doctor. His most famous moment in the movie is his delivery of the iconic line: "To a new world of Gods and monsters." The Actor: As Thesiger's Pretorius was an elderly British gentlemen, we can't think of anyone better to play the rebooted version than Ian McKellen. The X-Men and Lord of the Rings star would be a perfect fit for the part, as he could bring the right mix of gravitas and twinkly-eyed charisma. There's a good chance that this one could happen, too. Director Bill Condon frequently casts McKellen in his movies. He played the titular detective in Mr. Holmes, talking clock Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast and, most pertinently, he even portrayed Bride of Frankenstein's director James Whale in 1998's biopic Gods and Monsters. 7) The Bride - Eva Green The Character: Despite being the most iconic female horror movie monster in history, the so-called "Bride of Frankenstein" - despite that being the name of the doctor not the Monster - actually only appears in the original movie for a few short minutes at its climax. Still, Elsa Lanchester gave a terrific, silent performance in the part (interestingly, the actress also played Frankenstein author Mary Shelley in the film's framing narrative). With her beehive hair and animalistic hissing, the Bride immediately passed into cinematic legend. The Actor: For the reboot, however, we imagine that the Bride will take a much more central role in Bill Condon's movie. Especially given that Angelina Jolie was being targeted for the role last year. While Jolie would likely be terrific in the part - and is one of the few actresses who could match the star power of Cruise and Depp - our personal choice would be Eva Green. The former Bond girl would nail the character's beguiling mix of beauty and insanity. Plus, she already has history with the world of the gothic in TV's Penny Dreadful. 6) Van Helsing - Liam Neeson The Character: Traditionally, Abraham Van Helsing is the elderly doctor who helps Jonathan Harker and his friends defeat Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's classic novel. Over the years, however, he's morphed in Dracula's nemesis himself. Particularly in Peter Cushing's heroic take in Hammer's Dracula movies (starring Christopher Lee as the Count). Modern movie audiences will probably be more familiar with 2004's Van Helsing, however, which reimagined the character as, well, basically a monster-hunting Wolverine. Complete with memory loss, immortality and the fact he was played by Hugh Jackman. The Actor: From what we gather, it's the 2004 version that Universal are looking to reboot. In other words, they'll be looking for an actor who's tough enough to take on the dark forces of the world like a gothic James Bond. There are few people who could pull that off, but one who springs to mind is Liam Neeson. The Irish actor is now known the world over as Taken's Bryan Mills, so it would be a lot of fun to see him back as an action hero only this time, fighting monsters. If Universal are looking to go back to the traditional version of the character, though, Christoph Waltz would be a shoe-in for the part. 5) Gill-Man - Doug Jones The Character: Like Frankenstein's Monster, Gill-Man is more often known by the name of his movie; 1954's The Creature from the Black Lagoon. In case you haven't seen it, Gill-Man is essentially an amphibious version of King Kong. The last of an ancient race of fish-people, Gill-Man is discovered by a marine biology expedition in the Amazon rainforest. Though he picks off the scientists off one by one, he falls for the group's only female member. Unlike his fellow monsters who appeared in numerous movies, Gill-Man only appeared in two follow-up films. Despite that, he's been hoovered up by popular culture almost as much as the rest of the Universal monsters clan. The Actor: For Gill-Man, there would be no need to cast a famous face like Cruise or Crowe for the part as the actor will be constantly hidden under either heavy prosthetics or possibly CGI. The best idea then would be to cast a bankable star as the movie's leading lady (for instance, Scarlett Johansson, as was rumoured the other year) and recruit a performer who's an expert at working with their face obscured. The most obvious choice here, then, is Doug Jones. Hollywood's go-to monster man, Jones has played creatures, aliens and ghouls of all kinds in the likes of Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy and Star Trek: Discovery. He's even already playing another classic horror fiend in the upcoming reboot of Nosferatu. 4) Dracula's Daughter - Margot Robbie The Character: When Bela Lugosi, the star of the original 1931 movie, wouldn't reprise his role as Dracula for the sequel, Universal came up with 1936's Dracula's Daughter. Unlike the sinister Count, the film featured a tragic protagonist in the form of Countess Zaleska, who's desperately searching for a cure for the vampirism she has inherited from her father. As played by Gloria Holden, Dracula's Daughter only appears in the one Universal movie and, as such, is far from a well-known name. Still, she's a more layered character than many of the creatures in the universe so much could be done with her in the rebooted series. In particular, the original movie has some very clear lesbian undertones. In a modern interpretation, the character's sexuality could be treated with a lot more maturity. The Actor: As Dracula's Daughter is such a little-known character, Universal could go in any direction they want with her. So, the whole of Hollywood is their oyster if they ever wanted to cast the part. If you ask us though, Margot Robbie would be a terrific choice. The Australian star is one of the hottest actresses around right now and she seems to be signing up for new projects all the time. Anyone who's seen her electric turn as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad will tell you that she can deliver a charismatic and humanizing performance as a supervillain. 3) The Wolf Man - Idris Elba The Character: Even if you're not familiar with Universal's long-running The Wolf Man franchise, it doesn't take much to work out what its central character's all about. In the 1941 movie, Lawrence Talbot is a prodigal son who returns to his ancestral home in England where he's attacked by a werewolf and, you've got it, starts to transform into one himself. What marks the Wolf Man out from the other monsters is that he's portrayed as more of a sympathetic protagonist, who's always trying to cure his affliction. Lon Chaney Jr. played the part throughout the original series and the role was taken up by Benicio del Toro in the 2010 remake. The Actor: Despite that recent movie (which flopped big time), Universal will likely soon reboot the character again to fit in with the Dark Universe franchise. As the concept of werewolves is so much more familiar to modern audiences than those of the 1940s, the movie will likely live or die on the strength of its central star. Apparently, Universal were once after Dwayne Johnson for the part. While you gotta love a bit of the Rock, Johnson probably has enough on his slate at the moment. Instead, our pick to play a modern version of Talbot is Idris Elba. Elba has the gravitas, the physicality and not to mention the gravelly, growling voice to really nail the role. 2) Dr. Frankenstein - Dan Stevens The Character: In contrast to the common stereotype of a crazy scientist, Universal's portrayal of Dr. Frankenstein was always more of a conflicted figure, someone whose ambition and intelligence ran away with him. Colin Clive's performance in the 1931 movie and its 1935 sequel is often overlooked in favour of Boris Karloff's Monster, but he's nonetheless brilliant as the obsessive, highly-energized genius. The various sequels also demonstrate how the Monster becomes the Frankenstein family curse, as he plagues them through the generations. This would be something we'd be interested in seeing resurrected (pun intended). The Actor: Like we've said, Frankenstein needs to be portrayed by an actor who can believably play someone teetering on the edge of sanity. We can't think of anyone better, then, than Dan Stevens. Anyone who's seen Fox's Legion will tell you that Stevens excelled as the psychiatric patient/telepathic mutant David Haller. As with Ian McKellen, Stevens is also a very possible contender for the role seeing as he's previously worked with director Bill Condon on Beauty and the Beast. 1) Dracula - Mads Mikkelsen The Character: Er, do we really need to explain who Dracula is? Pale guy in a cape. Likes include drinking blood, turning into a bat and speaking in a thick Eastern European accent. Dislikes include sunlight, stakes and garlic. Bela Lugosi originated the role back in 1931 (though he only played the part once more, in 1948's Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein). In 2014, Universal attempted to reboot the character in origins movie Dracula Untold, starring Luke Evans. It was originally intended to be the first movie in Dark Universe but the tepid critical response means it's been swept under the carpet since release. The Actor: Perhaps the lesson here, then, is that people have had enough of the young, sexy, sympathetic vampire which we've seen a lot of in recent years (Twilight, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, etc.). Perhaps a new version could be aged up slightly and restored to his former sinister glory. If this is the direction that the studio wants to go in, we'd recommend Mads Mikkelsen. The guy is a natural villain actor thanks to his intense, charismatic performances, as seen in the likes of Casino Royale and Hannibal.

8 Characters Who Need To Appear in Universal’s Dark Universe (And Who Should Play Them)

7) The Bride – Eva Green