Keep your superheroes. Universal is going monstrous with their first big shared universe franchise (unless you count Fast & Furious, which is fair enough), and they're already getting the ball rolling on the next installment. Per THR, the studio has recruited The Expendables scribe Dave Callaham to rewrite the script for The Wolf Man, the next classic beastie on the docket.
The first draft of the script was written by Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners), who was part of the writer's room team headed up by Alex Kurtzman (Transformers) and Chris Morgan (Fast & Furious franchise) that the studio assembled to brainstorm and map out the monsters universe.
It's not totally clear if Universal will eventually circle back to Luke Evans' Dracula, who was introduced in 2014's Dracula Untold (though he seems to be feeling good about his chances), but they're poised to properly launch their interconnected universe with next year's action-packed spin on The Mummy. Directed by Kurtzman, The Mummy stars Tom Cruise, Jake Johnson, Annabelle Wallis, and Courtney B. Vance opposite Sofia Boutella as the titular monster. It will also introduce Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and is scheduled to arrive in theaters on June 9, 2017.
In addition to The Mummy, Wolf Man and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, the interconnected universe is rumored to feature The Invisible Bride and Bride of Frankenstein. Universal's first spin on The Wolf Man came from the George Waggner-helmed 1941 classic that starred Lon Chaney Jr. in the titular transformative role. They most recently revived the character in the 2010 adaptation starring Benicio Del Toro.
In addition to his work on The Expendables and The Expendables 2, Callaham also worked on Gareth Edwards' Godzilla and the long-developed Zombieland 2. He also penned the script for the upcoming Will Gluck-helmed action comedy Jackpot and the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Jean-Claude Van Johnson, which Amazon recently picked up to series. He also has the project Another Mother in development at New Line with Dwayne Johnson attached to star. Recent reports suggested that Universal was eyeing Johnson for the leading role in The Wolf Man, but there have been no developments on the casting front.
