Universal is continuing to expand its Monsters universe in interesting ways by bringing inToy Story 4directorJosh Cooleyto direct the family-friendlyLittle Monsters. To be clear, this is an original film, and not a reboot of theHowie Mandel/Fred Savagemovie, which is a mistake I absolutely made.
As reported byTHR, the movie will be a live-action hybrid featuring characters from the entire history of Universal’s monster movies, based on designs by concept artistCrash McCreery. McCreery has worked on a number of visually striking movies, includingBatman Returns,Jurassic Park,Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, andRango, among many others. Meanwhile, Cooley’s work includes almost two decades as an artist and writer at Pixar, with his feature-length directing debutToy Story 4grossing over $1 billion and nabbing a Best Animated Feature Oscar. He’s also been tapped to helm the first theatrical animated Transformers movie since the 1986 filmThe Transformers: The Movie.
After abandoning the shared universe approach of its ill-fated Dark Universe, AKA the most embarrassing called shot in cinema history, Universal has decided to revive their monsters with a series of filmmaker-centric movies. The massive success ofLeigh Whannell’sThe Invisible Maninspired the studio to commission Whannell for a sequel, as well as a reimagining ofThe WolfmanwithRyan Goslingin the title role.David Koeppis draftingThe Bride of Frankenstein,Elizabeth Banksis reportedly working on a reboot ofThe Invisible Woman,Paul Feigis writing and directing a new Monsters film calledDark Army, andKaryn Kusamahas been attached to direct a reimagining ofDracula. And in what is arguably the most intriguing decision, Grammy nomineeMatt Stawskiis directing a musical titledMonster Mash. Cooley’sLittle Monsterslooks to be the first title specifically aimed at a family audience. It’s admittedly refreshing that the studio seems game to try just about anything in a world where virtually every other franchise is stuck on the cinematic universe angle. For even more monsters, read aboutthe strange historyof the Universal Classic Monsters franchise.
