The world of the Universal Monsters has seen its ups and downs over the last few years, with filmmaker Paul Feig recently offering a disappointing update on his project Dark Army, noting that there hasn’t been any progress on the endeavor that’s worth noting. Feig didn’t necessarily say the project was being scrapped, instead professing his passion for the project, yet admitted that budgetary constraints were seemingly preventing the project from moving forward as quickly as he would like. Fans shouldn’t give up hope on the project moving forward, but it sounds as though there are quite a few challenges that the movie will have to overcome.
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“That’s one that’s driving me crazy. The problem with that is that some people read it and think it’s too expensive,” Feig shared with Collider of the project. “I never saw it that way, but that’s what I hear. I’m still working on it and trying to get it to that sweet spot, but it’s hard. I don’t even want to tell you about a couple of other things that we can’t get sold. It’s like, ‘Oh, my God, who wouldn’t want this?’ But probably every producer in town feels that way too.”
As far as whether he’s still hoping to make the project, he added, “Yes, of course. Yes. I have to make a monster movie. I have to make my monster movie.”
Back in 2017, Universal Pictures announced the Dark Universe, their planned franchise that would feature reboots and revivals of beloved Universal Monsters. The first entry, The Mummy, was both a critical and financial disappointment, essentially killing the franchise as it was about to begin. Various other projects tied to that series were either scrapped or delayed indefinitely.
Feig’s Dark Army was announced in 2019, a project which was said to take place in the world of the Universal Monsters, though details about how it would connect to more familiar properties weren’t revealed. In 2020, Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man was a major hit with critics, resulting in the announcement of a number of other reboots of Univeral Monsters, many of which were teased as being unconventional approaches to the material.ย
Given that Feig notably ran up a large budget on his 2016 Ghostbusters, it’s possible the studio is nervous of a similar outcome, while the complications caused by the pandemic also aren’t helping matters.
Stay tuned for details on the future of Dark Army.
Are you looking forward to the project? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaughย directly on Twitterย to talk all things horror and Star Wars!
