21 Jump Street Directors and Channing Tatum Developing Universal Monsters Movie

Following two successful 21 Jump Street films, star Channing Tatum and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller are reuniting to develop a tongue-in-cheek thriller set in the world of Universal Pictures' legacy of famous movie monsters, per Deadline. The movie, currently referred to as "Untitled Monster Project," is reportedly inspired by the famous Universal Monsters, though there are no confirmed details about if the film will utilize any of its iconic characters, or if it will merely be set in that universe. Reid Carolin conceived the original concept for the project and wrote a treatment, while Wes Tooke wrote the script from that treatment.

The outlet notes that the new film is a "modern-day, tongue in cheek thriller," which leaves us to suspect it could be similar in tone to the Jump Street films, which not only honored the source material by delivering crime capers, but also offered a self-reflexive sense of humor. Deadline also noted that the film would be a "bold genre reinvention of one of the studio's most beloved characters from the Monsters Universe."

In the almost-century since the Universal Monsters started to appear in films, their core concepts have been reinvented in a number of ways over time. In 2017, Universal Pictures announced it was launching the official "Dark Universe" of interconnected Universal Monsters reboots, only for the first installment, The Mummy, to be both a critical and financial disappointment. The already-announced Bride of Frankenstein, Invisible Man, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were all delayed indefinitely, before those concepts were all quietly scrapped.

Earlier this year, filmmaker Leigh Whannell unveiled his reimagining of The Invisible Man, switching the focus from a man who goes mad after uncovering the key to invisibility to depicting a woman (Elisabeth Moss) being tormented by her abusive partner, who had crafted a suit rendering him invisible. This revival has become one of the year's most successful horror efforts.

In the wake of that success, Whannell was tapped to develop a new take on The Wolf Man starring Ryan Gosling, while Jennifer's Body and The Invitation director Karyn Kusama is developing a new take on Dracula. Additionally, director of the Ghostbusters reboot Paul Feig is developing the film Dark Army, which is another project set in the universe of these iconic monsters, though there are similarly no details about whether that project will feature any of the famous figures from that lineup. Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley is also developing a family-friendly movie for this universe.

Stay tuned for details on the upcoming project.

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