About a year ago, it seemed as if we were on the brink of a film about the famous character Dr. Jekyll and his sinister alter ego, Mr. Hyde. This was because Russell Crowe actually played the part of Jekyll in Universal’s remake of The Mummy, leading many to realize that a new cinematic universe was being built. Jekyll, by all appearances, was meant to be the not-so-hidden character within The Mummy that could connect the movie to additional Universal monster and villain pictures to come. The whole project was to be known as the “Dark Universe.”
Said universe has since collapsed. That’s not to say it’s dead and gone for good, because Universal still owns rights to all of the involved characters, and the pure financial potential for even a middling fantasy franchise these days is probably too much for the studio to ignore. We’d bet that at some point, probably before long, the whole concept is rebooted as if The Mummy never happened. For now though, the collapse of the Dark Universe has left Jekyll and Hyde out of modern cinema, and largely out of modern entertainment entirely.
The characters are still visible in a few places though, which demonstrates that they’re still somewhat known, and there’s some appetite for them (or him, more accurately). Free internet-based slot games have become popular across the world, with some of the same ones Australians are familiar with now being available all the way in the U.S. and the UK. And if you browse through selections, you’ll often see a well-regarded Jekyll and Hyde reel. This slot game is perhaps the most modern example, but you can also enjoy the characters in numerous old films (some of which are newly accessible on streaming platforms), as well as through a Broadway musical by Frank Wildhorn.
Examples like these keep the characters relevant, such that a lot of would-be members of a film audience can name them or list a few details about them – even if they may never have read or watched the whole story. That ought to mean that there’s still a fairly strong base of potential interest in a modern film about Jekyll and Hyde – which is why it’s so interesting that, Dark Universe or not, it sounds like we’re getting one.
In fact, the upcoming movie is going to be based on the Broadway musical directly (which likely means it will be an on-screen musical rather than a straightforward drama). And it’s being put together by a Hollywood heavyweight. Alexander Dinelaris may not be a household name, but he wrote the script for the Academy Award Best Picture-winning Birdman, and produced the Best Picture-nominated The Revenant. It will be the first film produced by Dinelaris’s new development company, Lexicon, and given his recent track record it will be aiming high.
We know nothing at this stage regarding the timeline for the project, who’s going to direct, or which actors will take on the star roles. But this could well be the major adaptation that modern Hollywood has been missing concerning this famous gothic duo and their (or his) story.
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