Universal is Shifting its Focus Back to Monsters, Casting Them in "Action Thrillers"

After a summer of hugely successful comic and sci-fi films, there's no question that mainstream audiences are ready to live in a post-"Transformers" world occupied by big budget depictions of traditionally geeky properties. Although this is an exciting development for a lot of people, it's already becoming clear that we're going to be drowning in comic flicks for the next decade or so. In response to the growing trend of comic films on the horizon, Universal Studios is, according to Variety, going back to their bread and butter by shifting their focus back to their iconic monsters.

The studio will position its classic monsters as the next action stars, the way it did with “The Mummy” franchise and attempted with “Van Helsing.” “Universal’s legacy is built on our iconic monster mythology,” says co-president of production Jeffrey Kirschenbaum. “We are committed to revitalizing these films to make them part of a powerhouse action-thriller franchise, and develop worlds for these characters to thrive in.”

It's no secret that the Universal Monsters haven't aged well (See: 2010's "The Wolfman", or better yet, buy our back episode to hear our take on it), and slapping the phrase "action thriller" on there doesn't really give me much hope. On the bright side, if I'm proven wrong, classic horror fans will have another franchise to geek out over, and that can't be a bad thing.