Danny Elfman Composing New Music for Universal Orlando's Dark Universe Theme Park

The "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" composer will score the Universal Monsters-themed land at Universal Epic Universe.

By Cameron Bonomolo

The Dark Universe has an epic composer. Danny Elfman — the Oscar-nominated maestro who provided the scores for such films as Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas — is composing new music for the Universal Classic Monsters-themed Dark Universe land at Universal Epic Universe theme park. 

Elfman announced the news after Universal Orlando Resort in Florida unveiled a new look at the area, which houses attractions and experiences featuring Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein's Monster, the Bride of Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the Brides of Dracula.

"The Universal Monsters have always been such a big part of my life," Elfman wrote on Instagram. "I'm grateful and honored to have been chosen to compose the music for the new Dark Universe in @universalorlando. I can't wait to go!!!"

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One of five immersive worlds that will open with the much-anticipated Universal Epic Universe in 2025, the new land is inspired by Universal's iconic movie monsters and is set in the themed village of Darkmoor. (The section borrows its name from Universal's Dark Universe, the once-planned shared cinematic universe of monster movies that were to be set within the world of 2017's The Mummy.) The immersive area will "envelop guests in monstrous adventures across various attractions, shops, restaurants and character meet and greets that will thrill everyone from families to classic Monster fans alike," according to Universal.

Among the just-announced attractions are Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, a state-of-the-art dark ride featuring the famed monsters from Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and more, and spinning family coaster Curse of the Werewolf, where guests board a wagon and race to escape a pack of werewolves. Along with the thrill rides, guests who dare to visit Darkmoor can get a monster makeover with elaborate face paint and temporary tattoos at the Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience, and pose for photos with a mashup of monsters — including Dr. Victoria Frankenstein's Monster and the Bride of Frankenstein — at the Meet the Monsters character location.

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Within Darkmoor will be a vampire-themed Das Stakehaus restaurant where guests can sink their teeth into a menu of kebabs, burgers, sandwiches, and more; The Burning Blade Tavern, a hangout for the monster hunter "Hounds," will offer burgers, wings, bratwurst, pretzels and specialty beverages, while the De Lacey's Cottage food stand — named after the family from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein — will serve up electrifying treats like cinnamon bread, ice cream, twisted taters, and more. Merch and mementos will be available at retail locations like Pretorius' Scientific Oddities, named after The Bride of Frankenstein's mad scientist Septimus Pretorius. 

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Elfman is no stranger to monsters or the dark and gothic. The prolific composer's list of credits include Darkman, Sam Raimi's superhero movie influenced by the Universal horror films of the 1930s and 1940s, Nightbreed, Peter Jackson's The Frighteners, and the Tim Burton films Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Dark Shadows, and Frankenweenie. In 2010, Elfman scored Universal's The Wolf Man, the Benicio del Toro-starring remake of Universal's 1941 classic that starred Lon Chaney Jr. and Claude Rains.

Along with Dark Universe, Universal's Epic Universe theme park will be home to the new Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon's Isle of Berk, and the Ministry of Magic from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Universal Studios Orlando will open its fourth theme park in 2025.

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