The Universal Monsters (also known as Universal Classic Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) media franchise includes characters based on a series of horror films produced by Universal Pictures and released between 1913–1956. While the early installments were initially created as stand-alone films based on published novels, their financial and critical success resulted in various cross-over releases. Following the positive response to various viewings of these movies via television redistribution which began airing in the 1950s, the studio began developing the characters for other media. In the 1990s, it became priority for Universal to promote their catalogue with official packaging that presented the movies with the official franchise title. Through a number of VHS editions, their popularity continued into contemporary entertainment. This included additional development through modern-filmmaking adaptations such as Stephen Sommers' The Mummy (1999) and Van Helsing (2004). Modern analyses describes the titular characters as "pop culture icons".

History

Universal's early horror films were adaptations of work from familiar authors and texts to give their films a prestige appeal. These included Dracula (1931), whose success led to the production of other works such as Frankenstein (1931). Frankenstein's ending was changed by studio head Carl Laemmle Jr., who wanted Universal to be able deploy key characters from the film into subsequent Universal productions. Following the release of other Universal films such as The Mummy (1932) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), there was a dry spell of horror films. Universal only returned to the style following a successful theatrical re-release of Dracula and Frankenstein. The renewed interest in horror films led to new works, starting with Son of Frankenstein (1939). Universal would only introduce a few new monsters in the 1940s, with the most famous being Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man. The decade had Universal's horror output include many remakes and sequels, with films often directly reusing old sets, footage, and narratives to replicate moments in their earlier horror productions. Universal's first transmedia properties appeared in the 1940s and the 1950s with the films Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). In these films, the monsters from the studio's earlier films "team up" against various characters. Author Megan De Bruin-Molé suggested that the Universal Classic Monsters films exist as a loose mash-up, which allowed for Dracula to exist and be watched separately from Frankenstein but allowed their characters to be systemically and consistently brought together and developed in other films and media. These productions made were often crossovers and sequels, such as Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein and several occurrences in comedy films of Abbott and Costello meeting the monster. This meetings started with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and ended with Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955). De Bruin-Molé wrote that this approach from Universal was for commercial marketing terms, as it would establish the company as the "real" home of horror. Their films contained a world where potentially all monsters may dwell. The sole new monster movies Universal produced in the 1950s were the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and The Mummy (1959). The latter was co-produced with the British Hammer Film Productions. Towards the 1960s, the Universal monsters grew beyond film and became more consistently transmedial. Initially, this began in 1957 when Universal struck a ten-year television deal with Screen Gems to distribute 52 of their own titles. These television screenings and the films being included on Mel Jass' Mel's Matinee Movie (1958-1979) would also prove to be popular. Stephen Sommers, director of The Mummy (1999), stated that his introduction to the series was on Jass's program. Universal became part of the Music Corporation of America (MCA) in 1962. By 1964, Universal Studios tours would eventually include appearances from Frankenstein's monster. Several products based on the characters from Universal's film series were released, ranging from plastic model kits, Halloween masks, figures, plush dolls, toys, drinking glasses, coloring books and postage stamps. While some of these objects bare similarity to the actors who portray them, others are more generic interpretations. Other mediums featured the Universal monsters in tandem, such as Bobby "Boris" Pickett's 1962 popular song "Monster Mash" and the television series The Munsters (1964) which was based on the likeness of the Universal characters. In 1990, Universal was part of a merger between Matsushita, now known as Panasonic, and several other corporations. Between 1991 and 1995, Universal released VHS home video editions from their catalogue of horror films. This was the first time these films were packed together as the "Classic Monster" line, accompanied with a newly designed logo. Prior to this home video series, the Universal films that featured multiple monsters were called "Super-Shocker[s]" or "monster rallies". Louis Feol, the head of Worldwide Home Video for Universal Studios, said that the most important thing was the packaging of their sales. He added that it was "probably our single biggest priority and has been for a number of years", and that it was key to make the series of films "look like a line". In a 1999 interview, Feol stated that creating the series was to "reinvigorate and re-market" the Universal catalog, specifically with their series of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Phantom of the Opera, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy. The 1990s also saw a trend in the merchandising of Universal Monsters material as part of a trend for the decade of recycling and reinventing old material from the past. This led to the release of Stephen Sommer's The Mummy (1999) and a "monster rally"-styled film with Van Helsing (2004). Merchandizing of the characters in formats such as clothing and board games has continued into the 21st century. The franchise will be featured in the Dark Universe portion of Universal's upcoming Orlando theme park, Universal Epic Universe.

Films

Classic era (1913–1956)

Remakes, spin-offs, and reboots (1979-present)

Potential projects

Cancelled projects

Beginning in October 2013, Universal hired Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to collaborate in developing a relaunch of the Universal Monsters characters as a new shared universe of movies similar in fashion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe; notably a franchise which includes interconnectivity that originated previously in the classic Universal Monsters films. By July 2014, the studio officially hired Chris Morgan to replace Orci and work alongside Kurtzman in overseeing development of an interconnected series of films based around rebooted versions of the Universal Monster characters. The duo was tasked with creating the overall outline for the titular monsters. The development of a cinematic universe continued as Kurtzman and Morgan became involved with additional photography for Dracula Untold (2014); reshoots which positioned the final scenes of the movie in modern-day, in order to connect with other movies and to allow the cast to reprise their roles in future installments. The movie's connections to the new franchise was downplayed however following its mixed critical and financial reception, with The Mummy (2017) repositioned as the official start of the shared film universe. In May 2017, the slate of reimagined incarnations of titular monsters was officially titled Dark Universe. The studio announced the franchise with an official press release, logo, website, trailer, and score composed by Danny Elfman. Universal Pictures in collaboration with Kurtzman and Morgan, created a writer's room consisting of various contributors to create the stories that would later be expanded into scripts, which were intended to be rooted in horror as opposed to the action adventure nature of the studio's previous remakes. The Mummy introduced its ancient titular monster (played by Sofia Boutella), alongside the heroic character portrayed Tom Cruise who's monstrous origins depicted in the movie were intended to expanded upon in later installments. Prior to the movie's release, additional cast joined the franchise alongside Cruise, including Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde, Johnny Depp as Dr. Griffin / the Invisible Man, and Javier Bardem as the Frankenstein Monster. Confirmed reboot movies in development included: Frankenstein, Wolf Man, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Phantom of the Opera, Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Invisible Man, Van Helsing, and Dr. Jekyll. After poor critical reception and underwhelming box office performance of The Mummy in 2017 however, Universal postponed all plans for the Dark Universe slate of films. In January 2018, the production studio began reconfiguring their approach to the Universal Monsters, and following the departures of Kurtzman and Morgan from their roles as co-architects of the franchise, the studio decided to abandon a shared cinematic universe in favor of returning to standalone adaptations of the characters instead. After previously expressing interest in working with Universal Pictures on relaunching the characters for modern audiences, Jason Blum officially signed on to collaborate on a number of the projects in development. The producer later stated November 2020, that control of the Dark Universe and the Universal Monsters remains under the direction of Universal Pictures.

Main cast and characters

This table includes the Universal Monster characters and their respective actors for each movie in the franchise. Additional characters include recurring primary characters of the Universal Studios Monsters franchise.

Television

Created by comic book author and artist Marv Wolfman, in collaboration with Universal Cartoon Studios, the show was developed to reintroduce the Universal Monsters to child audiences. The plot centers around a group of college-age students and their professor Dr. Reed Crawley to form a squad call the Monster Force, who through the use of some supernatural skills and technological weaponry must combat Dracula and his army called the Creatures of the Night. The series aired through broadcast syndication from April to July 1994. With mild viewership, the show was canceled after its first season. Created by Stephen Sommers in collaboration with Thomas Pugsley and Greg Klein, as a spin-off animated adaptation and continuation of the film series which had starred Brendan Fraser. The television show centers around Imhotep / The Mummy, while following the continuing adventures of Rick O'Connell and his family. Featuring the voices of Jim Cummings, John Schneider, Chris Marquette, Grey DeLisle, and an ensemble of supporting cast, the show was marketed towards younger audiences through Universal Cartoon Studios. Airing on The WB through the Kids' WB! programming block from September 2001 to June 2003, the show received critical acclaim while some critics called the release superior to the feature-length sequels to the live-action 1999 film.

Short films

Developed in collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive-Peet, the short was released during The Colgate Comedy Hour as a live-television comedy sketch created to introduce audiences to The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Continuing the trend with previous installments where Bud Abbott and Lou Costello meet the Universal Monsters, the short follows a plot where the two actors explore the studio's prop room which references some of their previous interactions with the various characters, while encountering the Invisible Man, Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange), and the Gill-Man (Ben Chapman). Developed as an anime-styled prologue to the 2004 feature-length movie, the short was directed by Sharon Bridgeman from a script written by Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens. The plot takes place chronologically immediately before the live-action movie and follows Gabriel Van Helsing's investigation in the grisly murders plaguing Victorian era London, and his discovery of a monstrous killer named Mr. Hyde. Marketed as the prequel to the theatrical release, it was produced for the straight-to-home video market by Universal and was received with mixed reception.

Other media

Home video releases

The franchise has received a variety of home video packing boxsets including: The Classic Collection (1991-1994), the Classic Monster Collection (1999), The Legacy Collection (2004), the Essential Collection (2012), and the Complete Collection (2018).

Literature

Novels

Comics

Theme park attractions

Legacy

The Universal Monsters have been attributed with directly influencing the horror genre and its filmmakers in the decades that followed, as well as also retroactively adding additional depth to the source material for the characters. The popularity of the franchise, led to various unrelated media based on the characters and adapting in a variety of means.

Additional sources