Shining a Light On the Failed Dark Universe

Holden (0:00)

Before ink met page, superheroes rose from American ideals. Now these virtues take on powerful new forms in the US. Mint's Comic Art Coin and Metal Program. Featuring all new original designs of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, captured in 24 karat gold and fine silver. It's where American history and heroism unite in striking detail. Bring home the legends today. Visit usmint.gov slash DC.

That's usmint.gov slash DC.

SPEAKER_2 (0:38)

Now at Lowe's. Faster quotes start at the Lowe's Pro Desk. Got a material list handwritten on a sticky note or saved as a photo? Perfect. Bring it to us and get a quote in minutes. If you don't see what you need on the shelf, we'll help you get it. You can access thousands of products beyond what's available in store, or on lowes.com, right from the Lowe's Pro Desk. Build quotes faster and source the materials you need to keep your jobs moving. Just like that, at Lowe's.

SPEAKER_3 (1:08)

Hey, everybody. It's Jackie and Kara from Who's the Bitch? We're here to tell you about the Halloween Bitch-a-thon Thursday, October 22nd.

You know we're coming at you live, taking calls, listening to your bituations, and giving you advice as best we can. From 4 PM Pacific to 7 PM Pacific, that's 7 to 10 for the East Coasters. So grab your buzz balls and come on down and join us live, youtube.com/at Who's the Bee? We'll see you on Thursday.

Holden (1:53)

The Dark Universe. The Mummy.

Dracula. Creature from the Black Lagoon. Wolfman. Frankenstein's Monster. And his sexy bride, baby.

SPEAKER_4 (2:03)

And his sexy bride, baby.

Holden (2:04)

They're all here and they're all... What are they in? An action movie? A horror movie?

SPEAKER_4 (2:09)

We don't know what's...

Mike (2:10)

I'm here to talk to you about the Dr. Jekyll and the Mr. Hyde Initiative. Pridigium?

SPEAKER_6 (2:15)

Pridigium, yes.

Mike (2:17)

Is that even a word or is that just someone like...

Like someone trying to remember the band Prodigy? Who did Firestar? Pridigium?

Holden (2:27)

That is a group of executives being like, we need a word where when you say it, you know it's a secret cabal that is Pridigium, you know?

Mike (2:38)

We need a word that no one's copyrighted because we think it's original, but really because it's terrible.

Jake Young (2:44)

I would have loved an alternate take in The Mummy where Russell Crowe walks up to Tom Cruise's classic character, Nick Morton, beloved linchpin of this entire narrative endeavor, Nick Morton, and it's just like...

Mike (2:56)

Tom Cruise as Tom Cruise as Nick Morton.

Jake Young (2:58)

And it's just like, I was working in the lab late one night. And I came up on a dreary side.

SPEAKER_6 (3:06)

You never would have gotten there.

Holden (3:07)

You never would have gotten here. Of course, we're talking about today.

Mike (3:09)

Now I'm into this episode.

Holden (3:11)

Of course, today we're talking about the failed Dark Universe, essentially an attempt at a Marvel cinematic universe, but for the classic Universal Monsters that I already just named.

And Pridigium is real. If you haven't seen The Mummy, so many people have it.

Mike (3:25)

It's a real thing. We're not talking Zack Snyder's DCU, the Darkest Universe, but this is a really fascinating topic because they did try to create a cinematic universe with nothing but the idea of, well, they're making money doing it.

Holden (3:47)

We should too. A hundred percent.

Jake Young (3:49)

Well, that's the whole, around this 2015, 2016 time, everybody was in on it. Everybody was trying it. Yeah, there was the DCU.

There was the King Arthur Universe, the Guy Ritchie King Arthur Universe. They were going to do a Robin Hood Universe. They were going to do the Sinister Six as their own separate non-

Mike (4:11)

But yeah, the Sony Spider-verse.

SPEAKER_6 (4:12)

Sony Spider-verse. Yeah.

Jake Young (4:14)

There's even more that I can't even remember now, but everybody was like, oh, if you make each movie a must-see because it's part of a longer narrative, then we'll make also above a billion dollars. The fact that the MCU was just the most lucky thing that a company has ever stumbled bumbled into is just like, no, we can replicate something that was the result of a cosmic lottery. We're the ones to do it.

Holden (4:42)

At the same time, I get the studio excitement and pitch on this. For me personally, getting into a little bit of a gush, one of my oldest memories is getting a book from, maybe even my school's library, that was a breakdown of all the different Universal Monsters.

This was a coveted thing for my childhood. This is a very nostalgic thing for me and so many people. Even though I didn't even have a relationship to the actual movies, I still knew all of their faces. The Wolfman, Frankenstein's, all of them. They were all very iconic and they were all very iconically played by specific actors as well. I think maybe that also pushed the execs in this situation towards...