Given how there was only movie - 'The Mummy' - made for the so-called 'Dark Universe' franchise, it's no surprise that the whole thing has been put on the backburner.
Firstly, putting someone like Tom Cruise front and centre tells you he's going to be star, not the actual monster. John Landis pointed that one out to us, to be fair.
Secondly, not everything has to be a franchise. Thirdly, why would you even want a franchise of monsters? It was done before, and done only when they ran out of ideas.
Thankfully, some kind of intelligence has prevailed and now 'Upgrade' director Leigh Whannell is set to make his mark on 'The Invisible Man', ditching Johnny Depp for 'The Handmaid's Tale' star Elisabeth Moss.
Variety reports that Moss is close to signing on for the lead role, but no release date has been set for the movie. Plot details are also sketchy (invisible, you might say), but it's understood that Whannell will be writing as well as directing.
Given how good 'Upgrade' was and what we know of his work in the 'Saw' and 'Insidious' franchise, this seems like a perfect fit and putting Elisabeth Moss into the mix - who really is one of the most underrated actors working today - means this could be something really special.
The question is whether they'll go with the original H.G. Wells source material or if they'll go in some completely different direction ala Paul Verhoeven's 'Hollow Man'.
