The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to be the model that has captivated the Hollywood studios, who are never shy about invoking the “sincerest form of flattery” at every possible turn.  The latest Tinseltown studio to opt for the creation of movies with interwoven storylines and characters is Universal, which is rebooting its “classic” monsters with a series of inter-connected films that it calls “The Dark Universe,” and which kicks off with Alex Kurtzman’s The Mummy on June 9.

In addition to its press release announcing the new shared cinematic universe, Universal unveiled a group photo of some key “Dark Universe” actors that includes Johnny Depp, who will star in The Invisible Man, Tom Cruise, who stars in The Mummy as Nick Morton, Russell Crowe, who will play Dr. Henry Jekyll, Sofia Boutella, who plays the eponymous Mummy, and Javier Bardem, who will play Frankenstein’s monster in director Bill Condon’s The Bride of Frankenstein, which is slated to be the second Dark Universe film with an “oh so appropriate” release date of February 14, 2019.

Composer Danny Elfman has created a musical theme for Universal’s Dark Universe, and Universal has released a “Monsters’ Legacy” promo reel with footage of the original Universal monsters, who will, in their new rebooted incarnations, populate the studio’s new “Dark Universe.”