Universal Pictures announced its Dark Universe of reboots focusing on its iconic Universal Monsters back in 2017, and despite The Mummy kicking the franchise off with a rocky start, the studio experimented with various ways to explore the potential of its monsters. In 2019, Elizabeth Banks was set to direct and star in The Invisible Woman, which would have been a fresh take on the 1940 screwball comedy of the same name. With the coronavirus pandemic and multiple strikes having taken place since the announcement of that project, Banks has confirmed that the project is not something that she is actively developing. Banks can next be seen in Skincare, which lands exclusively in theaters on August 16th.
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“For one thing, what happened was they made an Invisible Man movie, and they’re making another one,” Banks revealed to ComicBook in support of her new film Skincare. “So I think Universal wants to see that through. I’m really interested in the idea that we have, and it is still there, but it’s not something I’m actively working on in this moment in time. I’m making a television show right now. Then I got to go make another television show, and then we’ll see what the heck we’re going to do.”
Banks’ comments about The Invisible Man are in regards to Leigh Whannell’s 2020 movie starring Elisabeth Moss, which wasn’t intended to be an installment in Universal’s originally planned Dark Universe. While there have been many rumors and reports about a potential sequel to that movie, it’s unclear if Banks’ comments about that sequel are in regards to official plans or are merely conjecture.
If Banks’ The Invisible Woman doesn’t move forward, it wouldn’t be the only planned Universal Monsters movie to seemingly dissolve, as Paul Feig was previously announced as developing the movie Dark Army, which would have been an ensemble monster movie set in the world of Universal Monsters yet wouldn’t have been a specific adaptation of established lore. Other seemingly forgotten projects include a new take on The Bride of Frankenstein and two different films based on Dracula, though a new Wolf Man went into production earlier this year and a new Nosferatu lands in theaters later this year.
Skincare is described, “Famed aesthetician Hope Goldman (Elizabeth Banks) is about to take her career to the next level by launching her very own skincare line, but her personal and work lives are challenged when rival facialist Angel Vergara (Luis Gerardo Méndez) opens a new skincare boutique directly across from her store. She starts to suspect that someone is trying to sabotage her reputation and business, and together with her friend Jordan (Lewis Pullman) she embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of who is trying to destroy her life.”
Stay tuned for possible updates about The Invisible Woman and for more from our conversation about Skincare. Skincare lands exclusively in theaters on August 16th.
What do you think of the actor’s comments? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!
