Another key role in Universal’s interconnected monster franchise has been cast. According to Variety, Javier Bardem is in talks to play Frankenstein’s Monster in an as yet unnamed Universal Monsters film.
The studio is already developing a Bride Of Frankenstein film and has reportedly been interested in casting Angelina Jolie in the titular role. However, Variety’s sources are stating “that Bardem’s Frankenstein would likely appear in another monster pic first.”
Could that other monster picture be the currently shooting The Mummy? Possibly. It already will feature an appearance by Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll, a character that will be appearing across the franchise. Variety notes that Bardem had originally been approached by the studio for the Jekyll role, though the Oscar-winning actor passed on the role.
Universal has been playing their cards close to their vest when it comes to their Monsters franchise plans. Outside of The Mummy‘s release date on June 9, 2017 release date, we only know that they plan on releasing a film a year in the series, with the next two scheduled for April 13, 2018 and February 15, 2019.
The studio has been fairly aggressive in pursuing A-list talent for the films though. In addition to Bardem, Jolie and Crowe, the studio has Tom Cruise in the lead hero role for The Mummy and Johnny Depp as The Invisible Man. There is also the persistent rumor that Dwayne Johnson is being sought after for the Wolf Man.
It is doubtful that they are bringing Bardem in just to heap lots of makeup on him and then lurch about the set uttering loan groans. It speaks to the idea that they are looking to do something more complex with the character perhaps. And that is something that is piquing my interest in the studio’s franchise plans even more than they already have been.
