Universal Pictures to launch Dark Universe franchise

The franchise will revolve around Prodigium, a mysterious international organization led by Dr. Henry Jekyll (Crowe) with the aim of protecting the public from the knowledge of monsters in our world and committed to tracking, studying and (if needed) destroying them.

​The Mummy will introduce Jekyll and Prodigium, plus Cruise as soldier of fortune Nick Morton and Boutella as the cursed title character.

The enterprise is relaunching Universal’s iconic characters into modern cinema. While “The Mummy” and “Bride of Frankenstein” are the only two films in the initiative to be dated, the studio is currently developing “The Invisible Man” with Johnny Depp set to star, and a “Frankenstein” film with Javier Bardem on board to play the classic monster. “Van Helsing” and “Creature From the Black Lagoon” films are also planned.

Universal has dated “Bride of Frankenstein” for Feb. 14, 2019, with Bill Condon on board to direct.

​The pic is the studio’s second entry in its newly announced “Dark Universe,” which kicks off with “The Mummy” — Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella — on June