Alex Kurtzman And Chris Morgan “Creating A Mythology” With Universal’s Monsters Universe

Since it was formally showcased to the world in all of its putrid, grotesque and oddly promising glory almost two years ago, all has been quiet on the front of Universal’s Monsters Universe – and there’s good reason for that.

In drafting in two experts of the shared cinematic universe template in Alex Kurtzman (Transformers) and Chris Morgan (Fast & Furious), the studio set about laying out an interwoven foundation that would bring together some of the finest and indeed most feared creations in film history under the one umbrella. Think Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, the Invisible Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Wolf Man. In recent months, there have been flickering signs of progress from within Universal, with the big-screen reboot of Van Helsing gaining a new pair of writers.

Now, speaking in an interview with Variety, Kurtzman and Morgan have weighed in on the topic at hand, claiming that the reason the interconnected slate of films is taking so long is due to the producers “creating a mythology.”

“This is not a heightened world,” Morgan says. “We’re exploring issues of family identity and questions of, ‘Where do I belong in the world?’ ”

“We’re creating a mythology, so we’re looking at this canon and thinking, ‘What are the rules?’ ” Kurtzman added. “What can we break and what are the ones that are untouchable? The idea is that we have a deep bench of brains to consult with about how their monster fits into our world as we go forward.”

Donna Langley, chairman at Universal, echoed these statements, revealing that “the characters will interact with each other across movies,” not unlike the crossovers seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, soon, the DC Expanded Universe. In terms of Universal’s Monsters Universe, the studio is “incubating it at the moment, and we’re taking the time to get it right.”

At the time of writing, The Mummy will jump-start the mysticism of Universal’s Monster Universe when it looms into theaters on March 24, 2017. Van Helsing’s reboot continues to gain traction, though it’s unclear if it will be the famed monster hunter slotting into the currently untitled monster movie that’s set to follow on March 30, 2018