Have you ever wanted to see Angelina Jolie as the Bride of Frankenstein, or Dwayne Johnson as the Wolf Man? Well, you may be in luck! The Hollywood Reporter recently crunched the numbers needed for Universal’s upcoming The Mummy to be considered a success (a $40 million domestic opening weekend, for starters). In their report, they state that, if all goes well, the studio is currently eyeing the two megastars for future installments in the franchise.
The studio has reportedly wanted Angelina Jolie for quite a while to play the titular role in Bill Condon’s upcoming Bride of Frankenstein. However, formal negotiations have not yet begun. This is likely due to the fact that Jolie commands a hefty fee and the studio isn’t quite sure if their action-fueled reboots of their silver screen classics will become financial hits.
If Jolie’s participation in the series is uncertain, Dwayne Johnson’s role in The Wolf Man is an early rumor at best. Once again, this speculation all depends on the financial performance of The Mummy in the coming weeks.
Angelina Jolie and Dwayne Johnson both command enormous fees for their performances. It will be interesting to see if the studio ultimately decides to add these high earners to a stable of talent which already features such expensive talent as Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Russell Crowe, and Javier Bardem. If these plans come to fruition, it could be the largest star-studded cast for any cinematic universe in history. This model is in stark contrast to the plan Marvel Studios originally followed, where their early years were all about finding talent who needed a chance (or a second chance) and then turning them into overnight megastars. However, Marvel films were an untested market at the time. If Universal has the money (and the confidence) to bankroll this kind of project from the get-go, more power to them!
Bride of Frankenstein, the next entry in the Dark Universe franchise, is scheduled to be released to theaters on February 14th, 2019. Therefore, it is likely that we will learn of the casting for this film first. Fans could expect updates to this story soon after the numbers for The Mummy roll in and Universal prepares for its next move.
Stay tuned to Horror News Network for more details on the Dark Universe franchise as it breaks!
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