Right now, Bill Condon’s Bride of Frankenstein is set to be the next film in Universal’s Dark Universe cinematic universe, which may seem a little odd since there hasn’t even been a Frankenstein movie. It’s also a little odd because even though Bride of Frankenstein is amazing, the titular character plays a minor (but memorable) role in the overall plot. It’s really the story of the monster trying to understand humanity and Dr. Frankenstein being pulled back into his evil work by the nefarious Dr. Pretorius.

When we spoke with screenwriter David Koepp last October about the movie, he said the film will dive more into the Bride character, painting her as a “sympathetic” and “tragic” figure in a tale of “female liberation.” Steve Weintraub recently spoke with producer Alex Kurtzman about the film while doing press for Kurtzman’s new film, The Mummy, and here’s what he had to say:

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Image via Universal Pictures

"David Koepp wrote the script. It’s really good. If you look at the original Bride, it’s one of the weirdest movies ever made. It’s truly a strange movie, and the Bride doesn’t appear until the end of the film, and she’s been built to be Frankenstein’s mate and takes one look at him and rejects him immediately. He gets so angry, he pulls a lever and the building explodes and that’s the end of the movie, and you’re like, “I have no idea what just happened, but it was amazing!” It’s fascinating to me that as a character with no dialogue for generation after generation after generation has been remembered. And I think she’s been remembered for her defiance and remembered for independence. She’s certainly been remembered for her iconic look. And I love that and I think Bill is going to do something amazing with that."

It seems that the idea with Bride is to take her few moments on screen and try to expand that into a character centered on “defiance” and “independence.” We still don’t know what the plot will entail, but at least there’s a clear idea of the central character taking shape. While I adore James Whale’s original movie, I definitely think there’s room for a remake in terms of exploring the character in a way that hasn’t been done before. Whereas the producers behind Dark Universe will have to strain to find new takes on the Mummy, Dracula, and Frankenstein, there’s lots of open road when it comes to the Bride of Frankenstein.

Be sure to come back for our full interview with Kurtzman. The Mummy opens Friday and Bride of Frankenstein opens February 14, 2019.

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Image via Universal Pictures

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