Universal continues to press ahead with their monster movie franchise. It is now being reported thatToy Story 4director Josh Cooley is onboard to helm an all-ages approach to the studio’s collection of classic creatres titledLittle Monsters. Cooley is set to write and direct the project, which is being described as a “live-action hybrid monster feature” and a “love letter to classic Hollywood and the history of filmmaking” with the story reportedly aiming to take a multigenerational approach to the infamous Universal Monsters. The movie will be produced by Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman of Mandeville Films.
Though specific details surroundingLittle Monstersare currently being kept locked away, it has been revealed that the movie will be based on the artistic outlines and character designs of concept artist Crash McCreery. McCreery has worked on movies such asJurassic World,Kong: Skull Islandand the surreal animated comedyRango. He will be taking cues from the studio’s rich back catalogue of legendaryUniversal Monstersand creature features, which date back nearly 100 years.
Evidently, Universal are not going to be satisfied with just adult-oriented horror though, asLittle Monstersproves. Who better then to bring a more family-friendly version of the usually R-rated monsters than Pixar alumJosh Cooley?
Little Monstersis just one of several efforts from Universal to make a franchise using their well-known monsters. Following the attempt and failure to launch the so-calledDark Universeback in 2017 with the Tom Cruise action-horror vehicleThe Mummy, the studio has instead decided that individual approaches to the classic characters may well be the best way forward following the success of this year’sThe Invisible Man.
Developing the studio’smonsters movie legacyremains a top priority for the studio, withThe Invisible Man’sLeigh Whannel now tapped to direct Ryan Gosling in the upcoming monster movie,The Wolfman. It was reported back in May that Gosling is all set to transform into what will no doubt be a handsome, hairy beast.
Alongside that, Universal are also developinga new take on Dracula, this time directed byThe InvitationandDestroyersKaryn Kusama, who is aiming to bring audiences a fresh take on Bram Stoker’s source material. “It’s a fairly faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel. I think something that gets overlooked in the adaptations of Dracula in the past is the idea of multiple voices,” Kusama has said of the movie. “In fact, the book is filled with different points of view. And the one point of view we don’t get access to, and all most adaptations give access to, is Dracula himself. So I would just say in some respect, this is going to be an adaptation called ‘Dracula,’ but it’s perhaps not the same kind of romantic hero that we’ve seen in the past… in past interpretations of Dracula.”
The studio is also working on a new take onBride of Frankenstein, with David Koepp currently working on a script and describing the movie as “definitely standalone” before adding “Universal famously tried this idea of great big connected horror movies in a thing, and it didn’t work, and it didn’t work really spectacularly. And I was impressed that they stood back and said, ‘Hang on, let’s give this a year or two and really think about it, and come at these in a singular way, and see what filmmakers … let’s listen to filmmakers with distinctive points of view.'”
