Summary
- Universal’s Dark Universe, an abandoned movie franchise, has found new life as an immersive world within Universal’s Orlando Resort.
- The Dark Universe world at Universal Orlando will feature attractions and experiences inspired by Universal Monsters, including Dr. Frankenstein’s experiments and the mysterious landscape where monsters roam.
- Universal Orlando’s expansion, including the Dark Universe, is a strategic move to compete with Disney’s parks by offering a wider range of immersive worlds.
When it comes to ambitious projects that fall at the first hurdle, Universal’s planned Dark Universe of reimagined Universal Monsters is up there with the most disappointing and costly. Originally kicking off with The Mummy in 2017, the Tom Cruise movie was such a catastrophe that the entire planned universe crashed down in its wake. Although Universal has gone on to revive their Monsters franchise with several individual movies, including The Invisible Man and Renfield, it seems like the Dark Universe itself has been given an unexpected resurrection – as a new “immersive world” within Universal’s Orlando Resort.
Although it seems that the film franchise is never to be revived, the banner has now been adapted into a new part of Universal Epic Universe, which will open in 2025 and features five individual “worlds” that will focus on “transporting guests to expansive worlds featuring more than 50 awe-inspiring attractions, entertainment, dining and shopping experiences that come together to create an unforgettable adventure that is nothing short of epic.”
One of these is the Dark Universe, which seems to take its base premise from the abandoned movie franchise. The description of the park says this is “where guests encounter everything from the experiments of Dr. Victoria Frankenstein to the shadowy landscape where monsters roam in a world of myth and mystery.”
Although not quite the multi-movie project that Universal had in mind for their IP, it seems that every dog – or wolf man – has its day, and the project will get a new lease of life next year. You can check out the plans for the Epic Universe in the video announcement below:
Dark Universe: All the Canceled Films Planned
Take a look at all the planned Universal Monsters remakes set for The Dark Universe that were canceled following box office bomb of The Mummy.
Epic Universe Is Universal’s Play to be the Top Holiday Destination
Universal Orlando has always been a must-visit holiday destination for movie lovers, and features plenty of iconic rides and attractions that have continued to bring in holidaymakers for a few days of their break. However, it looks like Universal now want to rival Disney’s parks in offering a much broader range of “worlds” to explore and new hotels to entice families to stay for a lot longer. This includes the addition of three new hotels, Universal Stella Nova Resort, Universal Terra Luna Resort, and the Universal Helios Grand Hotel, with the latter of these being situated within the park itself.
As well as the Dark Universe, other Universal franchises are also in line for the immersive treatment. As per the announcement, these other “worlds” are:
Celestial Park: At the heart of the park and the first world guests will encounter is Celestial Park. With acres of rolling gardens, chasing waterways and strolling pathways, Celestial Park will put the “park” back in “theme park.” Universal Orlando revealed even more detail about the wonders to enjoy while exploring this world. Celestial Park will also be the gateway to explore the four additional worlds of Epic Universe through a set of majestic portals.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, where guests will discover a different era of the wizarding world in an all-new land that blends 1920s wizarding Paris from Warner Bros. Pictures’ Fantastic Beasts films with the iconic British Ministry of Magic from the Harry Potter series.
Super Mario World, where guests will enter the iconic green pipe and discover a new way to play as they step into the worlds of beloved characters like Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Donkey Kong.
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, where guests can soar with dragons in a colorful world filled with Viking adventures based on the wildly popular How to Train Your Dragon film franchise.
