Universal Studios is looking inward for their next super-teamup and they aren’t looking to comic book pages (necessarily) for inspiration. They no longer own the movie rights to any major Marvel or DC character. However, what they do have is a rich film history and a library of classic monster characters, many of which predate the creation of many of today’s popular heroes. Horror movie icons such as Frankenstein, The Wolfman, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man, The Bride of Frankenstein and Dracula have remained largely untapped in recent years. Universal has had a previous attempt at doing a horror team-up, with 2004’s Van Helsing, which came and went without much fanfare.

Universal has hired Alex Kurtzman (Transformers, Star Trek) and Chris Morgan (The Fast & Furious franchise) to guide this new multi-picture endeavor. They will be producing and it hasn’t been announced if they will write any of the screenplays as well. According to Deadline, their duties will be as follows:

Part of their duty will be to work closely with production, marketing, promotions and consumer product to support the revival. They will also reevaluate projects which have preexisting attachments, and bring it under one cohesive strategy.

Kurtzman and Morgan’s imprint is going to be heavy over the entire monster movie universe. They both have track records that are hit and miss. The tone of the films are going to be crucial. These are horror icons, yet assumably, these films will be PG-13 fair. Making sure that the tone isn’t overly campy could decide the fate of the franchise.

It also seems that the duo have veto power over any previous film’s continuity. Currently Dracula Untold starring Luke Evans is set for an October 3rd release. Logic would seem to dictate that they will wait to see if that film is successful before making a final determination on if he fits into their new vision. While movies such as the aforementioned Van Helsing, The Mummy series, The Wolfman (2010), all likely will be rebooted and reimagined.

The gears have already started turning and hopefully the producers can hire writers who are able to stretch the stories creatively. It could potentially be a very fun and nostalgic ride for moviegoers. The first film on the slate is a reboot of The Mummy. It will be released on April 22, 2016, the first chapter in this new Universal horror-verse.

Sources: CBM, Deadline