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Posted in: Blumhouse, Movies, Universal | Tagged: blumhouse, film, horror, wolf man
Wolf Man Producer Discusses the Film's Standalone Story
Wolf Man producer Ken Kao shares his thoughts on Universal Picture's scrapped plans for the Dark Universe and why it's for the best.
Article Summary
- Universal's Dark Universe scrapped for standalone stories like Wolf Man.
- Wolf Man producer Ken Kao favors a unique approach over shared universes.
- Blumhouse's Wolf Man will bring a distinct narrative to horror cinema in 2025.
- Kao suggests a successful monster movie playbook mirrors Joker's solo success.
At one point in time, Universal Pictures was looking to align their very own shared horror cinematic universe — which was slated to pull classic monster characters (and a few new ones) into a modern genre scape, starting with the 2017 reboot of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise. However, the idea was short-lived. Universal has since opted to end the idea of a shared universe to focus on more unique, independent stories that aren't bound to other narratives. Hence, recent or upcoming releases like Abigail, Nosferatu, and Wolf Man have all pivoted from the connective idea that the studio initially pursued.
Now, one of the key producers behind the upcoming 2025 Blumhouse horror film Wolf Man is offering her stance on the dissolution of the "Dark Universe" and why it might have been for the best.
The Wolf Man Producer Addresses Universal's Dark Universe Dissolution
During an interview with Screen Rant, producer Ken Kao shares, "As an outsider, I would say that The Mummy's Dark Universe, in my humble opinion, felt like it was reactive to what was going on with all the superhero stuff — the MCU and DC universe, and we know there's been a lot of talk about what happened with all that [in] the last year or so." The producer candidly admits before eventually elaborating, "I guess you could call it maybe more like the Joker approach. In my opinion, especially if you're going to do it for contained pieces like Blumhouse is really good at doing, [it] makes a lot more sense to me. So that's a good playbook."
While there are a lot of exciting opportunities within a shared universe (as seen by Marvel's MCU), monster movies are an entirely different beast that would be much trickier for creative teams to navigate. So basically, we kind of agree with Kao here. But what about you?
Wolf Man will hit theaters on January 17, 2025.
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