This summer, Universal kicks off its monster reboot universe withThe Mummy, which hits theaters on June 9, and will set the stage for a slew of other projects based on some of Universal’s most beloved monsters and creatures. One of the other movies that has moved forward through the massivewriters roomlead byAlex KurtzmanandChris MorganisVan Helsing, which will be written byEric Heisserer(Arrival) andJon Spaihts(Passengers). While there is still very little we know about the story, writerEric Heisserershed some light on his approach to this vampire hunter character.
While most fans may remember the 2004Van Helsingmovie starringHugh Jackman, this character goes back several decades, withPeter Cushingportraying him in the iconic Hammer Films such asThe Brides of Dracula, andAnthony Hopkinsportrayed him in the 1992Draculaadaptation. WhileEric Heisserer, who is coming off two big hits in 2016,Arrivaland the low-budget horror-thrillerLights Out, wouldn’t reveal any specific plot details, the writer did tease in an interview withColliderthat he wanted to make this story as scary as possible. Here’s what the writer had to say about his approach to the story.
“I don’t know what it’s going to look like at the end of the process, so I’m gonna withhold on commenting on really where it lands. I can say that my intent stepping in was to make it as scary as possible, partly because I know how to do that, and also because when you’re the only human surrounded by a bunch of supernatural creatures, that’s gotta be absolutely unnerving.”
Eric HeissererandJon Spaihtswere part of the writers room that includedNoah Hawley(FargoTV series),Aaron Guzikowski(Prisoners),Ed Solomon(Men In Black) andJay Basu(Monsters: Dark Continent). This approach has become quite trendy, with writers rooms sprouting up for theTransformersfranchise, along with separate Hasbro franchises such asG.I. Joeand most recently aKing KongandGodzillawriters room.Eric Heissererwas asked if these writers had all come in with a specific franchise in mind they’d want to tackle. As it turns out, that wasn’t the case, while revealing why he andJon Spaihtseventually teamed up.
“We all came in without putting a flag down on any of thosecertain monstersor films, just talking about how we saw the world working and what we wanted to explore. Sometimes we’d talk about themes, and Jon and I just found ourselves kind of on the same page in terms of what we wanted to seeVan Helsingexplore. It was a natural team-up, I think. It was just a conclusion that we all reached around the table that he and I would work on that together.”
Universal had previously confirmed that they were using a post-credit stinger in the 2014 filmDracula Untoldto make that the first entry in this monster reboot universe, bringing the Dracula character intomodern day, where all of these other stories are set. It was later revealed thatDracula Untoldwill not be part of this universe, but the studio is still aiming at setting all these stories in modern day. Here’s what he had to say about the setting, and how he hopes this film is the antithesis to the slew of superhero movies that are dominating the cinematic landscape.
“Well I guess the biggest thing that’s already been said is it’s contemporary, it’s a modern-day reimagining… I can talk about my emotional state of what I’ve been passionate about or sometimes frustrated by are the number of films where we find an extraordinary character with superhuman abilities that becomes a hero to solve a problem that a normal person cannot solve. And I was eager to try and buck that trend and showcase someone who had no extraordinary powers, just resourcefulness and will and kind of a stubbornness who’s able to tackle some of these bigger problems. Because I don’t like the idea that we’re infusing our public and our pop culture with the idea that only super people can solve the world’s problems. I like the idea of the everyday hero stepping up to the plate and getting things fixed.”
Universal hasn’t issued a release date for this movie quite yet, but the studio has setrelease datesfor unspecified monster reboot movies to hit theaters on April 13th, 2018 and February 15th, 2019. It’s possible theVan Helsingcould take one of these dates, but it isn’t clear who is directing this film yet, or who will star as the title character. It remains to be seen when production will begin, but ifVan Helsingdoes have one of these 2018 or 2019 dates, filming may be starting sooner rather than later.
