Bride of Frankenstein Shut Down For Script Rewrites
The Dark Universe has suffered another blow after Universal announced that their attempt to create a connected universe out of its classic stable of monsters has run into trouble.
Deadline reports that the second film in the series, Bride of Frankenstein, has been suspended pre-production in London to focus on fine-tuning the script. Director Bill Condon had been overseeing development of the film; sets had been constructed and production was due to kick off in February but now, the production has been put on hiatus.
"After thoughtful consideration, Universal Pictures and director Bill Condon have decided to postpone Bride of Frankenstein," Universal said in a statement. "None of us want to move too quickly to meet a release date when we know this special movie needs more time to come together. Bill is a director whose enormous talent has been proven time and again, and we all look forward to continuing to work on this film together."
Rumours are that stars Javier Bardem and Angelina Jolie are waiting to see if David Koepp’s rewrites can improve the script before they commit to the final film – which is strange as Bardem took part in the official Dark Universe photo shoot back in May.
And despite a previously scheduled release date of 14 February 2019, the movie is now without a slot on Universal's calendar, with the Blumhouse team taking over the previous date.
The crew have been sent home and told to await the resurrection of the script.
It’s been a torrid time for the burgeoning Dark Universe; Despite taking $407 million, The Mummy underperformed at the box office and will cost Universal $100 million.
