Officially it’s cancelled but unofficially still ongoing. Dracula Untold ended on a very “Let the games begin 😏” Marvel-esque cliffhanger. Mummy ended with Nick only just becoming immortal. Universal Pictures had been trying to repeat the success of the MCU by having interconnected films (even with a “Shield”-like organization known as “Prodigium”), but unfortunately the movies kept failing. A-List celebrity Tom Cruise was the Dark Universe’s last hope, but even with him as the star, the movie failed hard with very negative reception. So after repeat very low box office bombs, an intentional Dark Universe was canned. However, Universal Pictures still holds the rights to make those classic monster films, so they continued to do so. The recent remakes (Invisible Man 2020, Renfield 2023, Last Voyage of the Demeter, etc.) are now more focused on being individual stories rather than building a connected universe. They’re no longer alluding to any other monster films and characters, but they also aren’t retconning and erasing them either. (Note: Dracula Untold was technically removed from the current Dark Universe, so Nicholas Cage’s Dracula does not retcon Luke Evans’ Dracula.) It’s now completely up to interpretation whether the current Dark Universe films are still connected or not. As you can see by this sub and the fandom wiki, there are many that still believe they are. Basically, an intentional Dark Cinematic Universe died with The Mummy in 2017. But the Dark Universe unofficially still lives on because UP will continue to make these movies, and while they won’t reference each other, they will not step over or erase each other. It’s a neutral area. More on reddit.com

Most of you people probably saying, "Dark Universe? Whats that?" Well you little ignorant millennial, let me break it down. Back in the day, when Movies were still new, and black and white, the most dominating films in the business were horror films. More on comicvine.gamespot.com

Before I proceed, I can't ignore the totally unnecessary crack about "artsy films" from undefined foreign countries that only critics know and like because they're "pretentious and self-indulgent." It may interest you to know that some non-American non-blockbuster movies are critical darlings because they're, like good? 2017 alone had Raw and Okja. So. The Dark Universe was on my mind not long ago and I had a revelation about its potential. I remember shaking my head on learning that Dr. Henry Jekyll would play some sort of Nick Fury role in bringing the monsters together. But recall what he's like in the original book (and presumably Universal's adaptation): a man preoccupied with good and evil, a man who sees the works in black and white. That perspective could have really informed his DU characterization. He starts as an idealist. The Mummy is a monster, Tom Cruise must destroy it. He's right. Except that poor mummy only turned out this way through a dark past, and Tom gets cursed along the way (that's what happens in the end, right?), and he chooses to stay that way. The Dr. Jekyll I know wouldn't abide. But that kind of moral complexity would recur in the series - what are monsters, after all, but reflections of aspects inherent to normal human beings, and aren't monster killers rather monstrous themselves? Frankenstein, arguably the most sympathetic of Universal's stock, would especially challenge Jekyll's beliefs. I can picture him at the head of the angry mob. Eventually, Dr. Jekyll decides he's seen too many normal people transform into vampires, werewolves, invisible folk, and other monsters. Instead of concluding that their new powers and the traumatic experiences responsible for them are the reasons they acted so horribly, he concludes that everyone has a literal dark side which these experiences unleash. So he develops a serum intended to quarantine and eliminate that dark side, which he first uses on himself in desperation. And THAT'S when we finally see, after so many movies of build-up and character development and tension, Mr. Hyde. In his rejection of moral complexity, Jekyll creates the first being in the series to be pure evil. Shit truly hits the fan here. ... But they didn't do that. They prematurely blew their wad by jamming a Mr. Hyde freakout in the middle of their cinematic universe's first freaking movie. Because they didn't have the patience or interest in drawing things out. They just wanted a movie that uses a familiar IP and hits so many different tones for so many intended audiences (gotta appeal to horror fans, but don't make it actually scary or you'll lose the mass market!) that it has no distinct identity or point of view. Like any monstrosity put down by a raving crowd, the Dark Universe is not without its shade of tragedy. More on reddit.com

From the information announced, I think you would do best with at least these big three: -Frankenstein -Dracula -The Wolfman Those will encompass the majority of the story portions of the land. To fill out the rest, I’d also recommend as secondary choices: -Bride of Frankenstein -The Mummy -The Phantom of the Opera -The Invisible Man -Creature from the Black Lagoon This should cover all your bases. I have a sneaking suspicion that Hunchback may have been cut, but even if he’s there, he’s probably the least “monster” of the monsters so you could skip it. More on reddit.com