Back when Disney was scooping up the rights to fairytales, Universal was doing the same with literary monsters that have since become classics. movies such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Wolf Man all had movies come out in the 30s and 40s.
It looks like 2025 is going to be a bumper crop of movies featuring these characters, some coming from the world’s most prolific filmmakers, but not all from Universal. Before we list those films, we have to take a moment to appreciate the ones still coming out in 2024.
Still to Come in 2024:
First, we have Robert Eggers’ adaptation of Nosferatu. The 1922 original was an unauthorized German adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The Stoker estate had a problem with this and sued the studio demanding that all copies be destroyed. Some survived.
Nine years later Universal would do their own film based on the bloodsucker with the fabulous broach and the rest is history. Egger’s version of Nosferatu comes out on December 25.
Werewolves (Dec. 6)
Before that, we get Werewolves on December 6. Universal originally featured the cursed lycanthrope in 1935 in a film called Werewolf in London. Since then the hairy monster has become associated with the Universal label. Werewolves isn’t an official Universal film and the reason filmmakers can get around that is because their creature is an independent interpretation of the creature.
Coming in 2025:
Frankenstein (2025)
Director Guillermo del Toro is currently piecing together his interpretation of the famous Frankenstein’s monster. After the dismantling of Universal’s Dark Universe concept in which the studio was going to make new versions of their classic movies, a different version of this movie was scrapped. Del Toro decided to make his own stand-alone adaptation.
Wolf Man (January 17, 2025)
Leigh Whannell is also entering the world of Universal monsters with his version of the Wolf Man. Universal is behind this project which will open in theaters on January 17. Blumhouse is also taking a production credit. Originally Ryan Gosling was supposed to be the male lead, but that role was eventually given to Christopher Abbott.
Logline: “A family at a remote farmhouse is attacked by an unseen animal, but as the night stretches on, the father begins to transform into something unrecognizable.”
Sinners (March 7, 2025)
Warner Bros. is taking a crack at its own vampire story, this one taking place in 1930s Louisiana. With the success of Abigail (an official Universal Picture) earlier this year, it will be interesting to see how this new Michael P. Jordan take on the classic monsters plays out.
Logline: “Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.”
The Bride! (September 26, 2025)
Again Warner Bros. appropriates another Universal classic. This time with their take on The Bride of Frankenstein. This film is “inspired” by the James Whale’s version from 1935 and Mary Shelley’s classic novel. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Christian Bale. It’s directed by Gyllenhaal’s sister Maggie.
Logline: In 1930s Chicago, Frankenstein asks Dr. Euphronius to help create a companion. They give life to a murdered woman as the Bride, sparking romance, police interest, and radical social change.
Dracula: A Love Tale ( September 26, 2025)
Director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Taken) is putting his artistic spin on yet another adaptation of Dracula, this one titled Dracula: A Love Tale. Again, this film is not a Universal Pictures project, but a production from France in association with Warner Bros.
Logline: “After his wife dies, a 15th-century prince renounces God and becomes a vampire. Centuries later in 19th century London, he sees a woman resembling his late wife and pursues her, sealing his own fate.”
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