NEWS - Dark Universe officially Dead

Invisible Man to go ahead - WITHOUT any DU connection

After 'The Mummy' disappointment, Universal is no longer mandating that its monster movies be part of a shared universe.

One of Universal's monsters is being brought back from the dead.

Universal and Blumhouse are developing an Invisible Man movie, with Insidious and Saw mastermind Leigh Whannell attached to direct, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Jason Blum and Whannell will produce.

The Invisible Man originated from the HG Wells novel that was adapted into the 1933 black-and-white classic starring Claude Rains.

Universal previously had planned a shared universe based off of its classic monster characters, with star Johnny Depp attached in 2016 to play The Invisible Man. Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Javier Bardem and Sophia Boutella were also to be part of what was dubbed the Dark Universe, but those plans were put on hold after the disappointment of Cruise's The Mummy in 2017.

Universal is now charting a new course, and The Invisible Man is not being developed with the expectation of it being part of a larger universe. Universal is also open to other classic monsters being developed by filmmakers seeking to make films not connected to a larger universe.

“Throughout cinematic history, Universal’s classic monsters have been reinvented through the prism of each new filmmaker who brought these characters to life," Peter Cramer, Universal’s president of production, said in a statement. "We are excited to take a more individualized approach for their return to screen, shepherded by creators who have stories they are passionate to tell with them.”

Whannell broke out as the writer and star of 2004's Saw, which also introduced Hollywood to director James Wan. He and Wan went on to create the Insidious franchise, with Whannell making his directorial debut with 2015's Insidious: Chapter 3. Last year, Whannell directed Upgrade, a Blumhouse film about a man who is able to access special powers thanks to a sentient computer chip.

Blumhouse's Glass opened earlier this month and has earned $162.9 million globally.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/invisible-man-movie-works-blumhouse-1180161