The Universal Monsters (also known as Universal Classic Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) media franchise includes characters based on a series of horror films produced by Universal Pictures and released between 1913–1956.

While the early installments were initially created as stand-alone films based on published novels, their financial and critical success resulted in various cross-over releases. Following the positive response to various viewings of these movies via television redistribution which began airing in the 1950s, the studio began developing the characters for other media. In the 1990s, it became priority for Universal to promote their catalogue with official packaging that presented the movies with the official franchise title. Through a number of VHS editions, their popularity continued into contemporary entertainment. This included additional development through modern-filmmaking adaptations such as Stephen Sommers' The Mummy (1999) and Van Helsing (2004).

Modern analyses describes the titular characters as "pop culture icons".

Universal's early horror films were adaptations of work from familiar authors and texts to give their films a prestige appeal. These included Dracula (1931), whose success led to the production of other works such as Frankenstein (1931). Frankenstein's ending was changed by studio head Carl Laemmle Jr., who wanted Universal to be able deploy key characters from the film into subsequent Universal productions. Following the release of other Universal films such as The Mummy (1932) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935), there was a dry spell of horror films. Universal only returned to the style following a successful theatrical re-release of Dracula and Frankenstein. The renewed interest in horror films led to new works, starting with Son of Frankenstein (1939).

Universal would only introduce a few new monsters in the 1940s, with the most famous being Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man. The decade had Universal's horror output include many remakes and sequels, with films often directly reusing old sets, footage, and narratives to replicate moments in their earlier horror productions.

Universal's first transmedia properties appeared in the 1940s and the 1950s with the films Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). In these films, the monsters from the studio's earlier films "team up" against various characters. Author Megan De Bruin-Molé suggested that the Universal Classic Monsters films exist as a loose mash-up, which allowed for Dracula to exist and be watched separately from Frankenstein but allowed their characters to be systemically and consistently brought together and developed in other films and media. These productions made were often crossovers and sequels, such as Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein and several occurrences in comedy films of Abbott and Costello meeting the monster. This meetings started with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and ended with Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955). De Bruin-Molé wrote that this approach from Universal was for commercial marketing terms, as it would establish the company as the "real" home of horror. Their films contained a world where potentially all monsters may dwell. The sole new monster films that Universal produced in the 1950s were the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and The Mummy (1959). The latter was co-produced with the British Hammer Film Productions.

Towards the 1960s, the Universal monsters grew beyond film and became more consistently transmedial. Initially, this began in 1957 when Universal struck a ten-year television deal with Screen Gems to distribute 52 of their own titles. These television screenings and the films being included on Mel Jass' Mel's Matinee Movie (1958-1979) would also prove to be popular. Stephen Sommers, director of The Mummy (1999), stated that his introduction to the series was on Jass's program. Universal became part of the Music Corporation of America (MCA) in 1962. By 1964, Universal Studios tours would eventually include appearances from Frankenstein's monster. Several products based on the characters from Universal's film series were released, ranging from plastic model kits, Halloween masks, figures, plush dolls, toys, drinking glasses, coloring books and postage stamps. While some of these objects bare similarity to the actors who portray them, others are more generic interpretations. Other mediums featured the Universal monsters in tandem, such as Bobby "Boris" Pickett's 1962 popular song "Monster Mash" and the television series The Munsters (1964) which was based on the likeness of the Universal characters.

In 1990, Universal was part of a merger between Matsushita, now known as Panasonic, and several other corporations. Between 1991 and 1995, Universal released VHS home video editions from their catalogue of horror films. This was the first time these films were packed together as the "Classic Monster" line, accompanied with a newly designed logo. Prior to this home video series, the Universal films that featured multiple monsters were called "Super-Shocker[s]" or "monster rallies". Louis Feol, the head of Worldwide Home Video for Universal Studios, said that the most important thing was the packaging of their sales. He added that it was "probably our single biggest priority and has been for a number of years", and that it was key to make the series of films "look like a line". In a 1999 interview, Feol stated that creating the series was to "reinvigorate and re-market" the Universal catalog, specifically with their series of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Phantom of the Opera, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy.

The 1990s also saw a trend in the merchandising of Universal Monsters material as part of a trend for the decade of recycling and reinventing old material from the past. This led to the release of Stephen Sommer's The Mummy (1999) and a "monster rally"-styled film with Van Helsing (2004). Merchandizing of the characters in formats such as clothing and board games has continued into the 21st century. The franchise will be featured in the Dark Universe portion of Universal's upcoming Orlando theme park, Universal Epic Universe.

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Film	U.S. release date	Director(s)	Screenwriter(s)	Story by	Producer(s)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	March 6, 1913 (1913-03-06)	Herbert Brenon			Carl Laemmle
The Hunchback of Notre Dame	September 2, 1923 (1923-09-02)	Wallace Worsley	Edward T. Lowe, Jr. & Perley Poore Sheehan
The Phantom of the Opera	November 25, 1925 (1925-11-25)	Rupert Julian and Lon Chaney and Edward Sedgwick and Ernst Laemmle & Frank McCormick	Walter Anthony, Elliott J. Clawson, Bernard McConville, Frank M. McCormack, Tom Reed, Raymond L. Schrock, Jasper Spearing & Richard Wallace
Dracula	February 14, 1931 (1931-02-14)	Tod Browning	Garrett Fort		Tod Browning and Carl Laemmle, Jr.
Drácula	April 24, 1931 (1931-04-24)	George Melford	Baltasar Fernández Cué and Garret Fort	Garret Fort	Carl Laemmle Jr. and Paul Kohner
Frankenstein	November 21, 1931 (1931-11-21)	James Whale	Francis Edward Faragoh & Garrett Fort	John L. Balderston	Carl Laemmle Jr.
The Mummy	October 20, 1932 (1932-10-20)	Karl Freund	John L. Balderston	Nina Wilcox Putnam & Richard Schayer
The Invisible Man	November 13, 1933 (1933-11-13)	James Whale	R. C. Sherriff
Bride of Frankenstein	April 20, 1935 (1935-04-20)	James Whale	William Hurlbut	William Hurlbut & John L. Balderston
Werewolf of London	May 13, 1935 (1935-05-13)	Stuart Walker	John Colton, Robert Harris, Harvey Gates, Edmund Pearson, James Mulhauser & Aben Kandel	Robert Harris	Stanley Bergerman
Dracula's Daughter	May 11, 1936 (1936-05-11)	Lambert Hillyer	Garrett Fort	Oliver Jeffries	E. M. Asher
Son of Frankenstein	January 13, 1939 (1939-01-13)	Rowland V. Lee	Wyllis Cooper		Rowland V. Lee
The Invisible Man Returns	January 12, 1940 (1940-01-12)	Joe May	Kurt Siodmak & Lester Cole	Curt Siodmak & Joe May	Ken Goldsmith
The Mummy's Hand	November 20, 1940 (1940-11-20)	Christy Cabanne	Griffin Jay and Maxwell Shane		Ben Pivar
The Invisible Woman	December 12, 1940 (1940-12-12)	A. Edward Sutherland	Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo & Gertrude Purcell	Curt Siodmak & Joe May	Burt Kelly
The Wolf Man	December 12, 1941 (1941-12-12)	George Waggner	Curt Siodmak		George Waggner
The Ghost of Frankenstein	March 13, 1942 (1942-03-13)	Erle C. Kenton	W. Scott Darling	Eric Taylor
Invisible Agent	April 17, 1942 (1942-04-17)	Edwin L. Marin	Curtis Siodmak		Frank Lloyd
The Mummy's Tomb	October 23, 1942 (1942-10-23)	Harold Young	Griffin Jay & Henry Sucher	Neil P. Varnick	Ben Pivar
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man	March 5, 1943 (1943-03-05)	Roy William Neill	Curt Siodmak		George Waggner
Phantom of the Opera	August 12, 1943 (1943-08-12)	Arthur Lubin	Samuel Hoffenstein & Eric Taylor	John Jacoby
Son of Dracula	November 5, 1943 (1943-11-05)	Robert Siodmak	Eric Taylor	Curtis Siodmak	Ford Beebe and Donald H. Brown
The Invisible Man's Revenge	June 9, 1944 (1944-06-09)	Ford Beebe	Bertram Millhauser		Ford Beebe
The Mummy's Ghost	July 7, 1944 (1944-07-07)	Reginald LeBorg	Griffin Jay, Henry Sucher & Brenda Weisberg	Griffin Jay & Henry Sucher	Ben Pivar
House of Frankenstein	February 16, 1945 (1945-02-16)	Erle C. Kenton	Edward T. Lowe	Curt Siodmak	Paul Malvern
The Mummy's Curse	December 22, 1944 (1944-12-22)	Leslie Goodwins	Bernard Schubert	Leon Abrams & Dwight V. Babcock	Oliver Drake
House of Dracula	June 29, 1945 (1945-06-29)	Eric C. Kenton	Edward T. Lowe	Dwight V. Babcock & George Bricker	Paul Malvern
She-Wolf of London	March 29, 1946 (1946-03-29)	Jean Yarbrough	George Bricker	Dwight V. Babcock	Ben Pivar
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein	May 17, 1948 (1948-05-17)	Charles T. Barton	Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo & John Grant		Robert Arthur
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man	March 19, 1951 (1951-03-19)	Charles Lamont	Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo & John Grant	Hugh Wedlock Jr. & Howard Snyder	Howard Christie
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde	August 12, 1953 (1953-08-12)	Charles Lamont	Lee Loeb & John Grant	Sidney Fields & Grant Garrett
Creature from the Black Lagoon	February 12, 1954 (1954-02-12)	Jack Arnold	Harry Essex & Arthur Ross	Maurice Zimm	William Alland
Revenge of the Creature	March 11, 1955 (1955-03-11)	Jack Arnold	Martin Berkeley	William Alland
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy	May 23, 1955 (1955-05-23)	Charles Lamont	John Grant	Lee Loeb	Howard Christie
The Creature Walks Among Us	April 26, 1956 (1956-04-26)	John Sherwood	Arthur Ross		William Alland

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Film	U.S. release date	Director(s)	Screenwriter(s)	Story by	Producer(s)	Ref(s)
Dracula	July 13, 1979 (1979-07-13)	John Badham	W. D. Richter		Marvin Mirisch and Walter Mirisch
The Mummy	May 7, 1999 (1999-05-07)	Stephen Sommers		Stephen Sommers and Lloyd Fonvielle & Kevin Jarre	Sean Daniel and James Jacks
The Mummy Returns	May 4, 2001 (2001-05-04)	Stephen Sommers
The Scorpion King	April 19, 2002 (2002-04-19)	Chuck Russell	William Osborne & David Hayter and Stephen Sommers	Stephen Sommers & Jonathan Hales	Sean Daniel, James Jacks, Kevin Misher and Stephen Sommers
Van Helsing	April 7, 2004 (2004-04-07)	Stephen Sommers			Stephen Sommers and Bob Ducsay
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor	August 1, 2008 (2008-08-01)	Rob Cohen	Alfred Gough & Miles Millar		Sean Daniel, James Jacks, Stephen Sommers and Bob Ducsay
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior	August 19, 2008 (2008-08-19)	Russell Mulcahy	Randall McCormick		Sean Daniel and James Jacks
The Wolfman	February 12, 2010 (2010-02-12)	Joe Johnston	Andrew Kevin Walker & David Self		Sean Daniel, Scott Stuber, Benicio del Toro and Rick Yorn
The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption	January 10, 2012 (2012-01-10)	Roel Reiné	Brendan Cowles & Shane Kuhn	Randall McCormick	Leslie Belzberg
The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power	January 6, 2015 (2015-01-06)	Mike Elliott	Michael D. Weiss		Mike Elliott and Ogden Gavanski
The Scorpion King: Book of Souls	October 23, 2018 (2018-10-23)	Don Michael Paul	David Alton Hedges & Frank DeJohn		Mike Elliott

Beginning in October 2013, Universal hired Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to collaborate in developing a relaunch of the Universal Monsters characters as a new shared universe of films similar in fashion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, notably a franchise which includes interconnectivity that originated previously in the classic Universal Monsters films. By July 2014, the studio officially hired Chris Morgan to replace Orci and work alongside Kurtzman in overseeing development of an interconnected series of films based around rebooted versions of the Universal Monster characters. The duo was tasked with creating the overall outline for the titular monsters. The development of a cinematic universe continued as Kurtzman and Morgan became involved with additional photography for Dracula Untold (2014); reshoots positioned the final scenes of the film in modern-day, in order to connect with other films and to allow the cast to reprise their roles in future installments. The film's connections to the new franchise were later downplayed following its mixed critical and financial reception, with The Mummy (2017) repositioned as the official start of the shared film universe. In May 2017, the slate of reimagined incarnations of titular monsters was officially titled Dark Universe. The studio announced the franchise with a press release, that debuted the official logo, website, trailer, and score that would be prominantly used in the movies. Universal Pictures, in collaboration with Kurtzman and Morgan, created a writer's room consisting of various contributors to create the stories that would later be expanded into scripts, which were intended to be rooted in horror as opposed to the action adventure nature of the studio's previous remakes. The Mummy introduced its ancient titular monster (played by Sofia Boutella), alongside the heroic character portrayed by Tom Cruise whose adventures as a monster were intended to expanded upon in later installments. Prior to the film's release, additional cast officially joined the franchise as announced by Universal Pictures. The studio announced a slate of films; but following the poor critical reception and underwhelming box office performance of The Mummy (2017), Universal postponed all plans for the Dark Universe slate of films.

In January 2018, the production studio began reconfiguring their approach to the Universal Monsters, and following the departures of Kurtzman and Morgan from their roles as co-architects of the franchise, the studio decided to abandon a shared cinematic universe in favor of returning to standalone adaptations of the characters instead. After previously expressing interest in working with Universal Pictures on relaunching the characters for modern audiences, Jason Blum officially signed on to collaborate on a number of the projects in development. The producer later stated in November 2020 that control of the Dark Universe and the Universal Monsters remains under the direction of Universal Pictures.

Film	U.S. release date	Director(s)	Screenwriter(s)	Story by	Producer(s)	Ref(s)
Dracula Untold	October 10, 2014 (2014-10-10)	Gary Shore	Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless		Michael De Luca
The Mummy	June 9, 2017 (2017-06-09)	Alex Kurtzman	David Koepp and Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman	Jon Spaihts and Alex Kurtzman & Jenny Lumet	Alex Kurtzman, Chris Morgan, Sean Daniel and Sarah Bradshaw
The Invisible Man	February 28, 2020 (2020-02-28)	Leigh Whannell			Jason Blum and Kylie du Fresne
Renfield	April 14, 2023 (2023-04-14)	Chris McKay	Ryan Ridley	Robert Kirkman	Chris McKay, Samantha Nisenboim, Bryan Furst, Sean Furst, Robert Kirkman and David Alpert
The Last Voyage of the Demeter	August 11, 2023 (2023-08-11)	André Øvredal	Bragi Schut Jr. & Zak Olkewicz	Bragi Schut Jr.	Bradley J. Fischer, Mike Medavoy and Arnold W. Messer
Abigail	April 19, 2024 (2024-04-19)	Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett	Stephen Shields & Guy Busick		William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein, Tripp Vinson and Chad Villella
Wolf Man	January 17, 2025 (2025-01-17)	Leigh Whannell	Leigh Whannell & Corbett Tuck and Lauren Schuker Blum & Rebecca Angelo		Jason Blum

• Dark Army: By September 2019, the film featuring monsters from the original films as well as new characters was in development. Paul Feig was attached as director, from a script of his own, and as co-producer with Laura Fischer. The project is a joint production between Universal Pictures and Feigco Productions. By October, Universal was reviewing his script as a reworking of the Dark Universe concept, while The Bride of Frankenstein is cited as a major influence. By February 2020, Feig was working on a second draft of the script, upon receiving input from Universal Pictures. By that May, the filmmaker completed the newest draft while describing the tone as closer to the original films with horror elements, but a portrayal of the monsters as rejects. Feig had been given the option to develop films of any characters from the roster of monsters owned by Universal Pictures, prior to his chosen project.
• Frankenstein: Beginning in June 2017, the project was initially announced as being in development as one of the films intended to be an installment in the Dark Universe, with Javier Bardem cast to portray the titular character. Following the studio's change in approach to the characters, in November 2019 James Wan was attached as a producer on a reboot of the Frankenstein. Jason Blum expressed interest in joining the production in a producing role. Robbie Thompson was hired as screenwriter in 2020, while the plot is said to center around a group of teenagers who discover that a neighbor is creating a monster in their basement. The project is a joint production between Universal Pictures and Atomic Monster.
• The Invisible Woman: In November 2019, a reboot of The Invisible Woman was revealed to be in development. Elizabeth Banks was attached to star in, and direct the film, from a script written by Erin Cressida Wilson based on an original story written by Banks, and as a producer with Max Handelman. Banks was given options to develop a film from any characters in the roster of monsters owned by Universal Pictures, while she chose the Invisible Woman.
• Monster Mash: In February 2020 a musical, titled after and centered around the novelty song "Monster Mash", was revealed to be in development. Grammy Award nominee Matt Stawski was hired as a director, Will Widger was attached as screenwriter, from an original story written by Stawski, while Marty Bowen was put as producer. The project is a joint-venture production between Universal Pictures and Temple Hill Entertainment.
• Dracula: By March 2020, Karyn Kusama was hired to direct a film centered around Dracula, from a script co-written by Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay. The plot was reportedly to take place in a modern setting. The project was to be a joint-venture production, with Blumhouse Productions serving as the production studio. In June of the same year, Kusama stated that the film would be a "faithful adaptation" of Bram Stoker's Dracula, including the plot device of being told from various perspectives. In February 2021, Chloé Zhao was hired to write and direct a futuristic sci-fi Western film centered around the character.
• Little Monsters: In July 2020, Josh Cooley was hired as both writer and director, with the story centering on the characters from the Universal Monsters films, inspired and based on drawings of the monster characters by Crash McCreery who was given an executive producer credit. The project is intended to serve as a "love letter to classic Hollywood and the history of film-making with a story that takes a multi-generational approach to the monsters and a more PG-rated, lighthearted family-friendly tone in the tradition of the classic '80s Spielberg films from Amblin Entertainment to match as well". The film is said to be a live-action/CGI hybrid, and Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman are attached as producers. The project is a joint production between Universal Pictures and Mandeville Films.
• Untitled Invisible Man sequel: In February 2020, Leigh Whannell stated that though The Invisible Man (2020) was developed as a standalone film, he may consider making a follow-up film. By May, the sequel discussions were ongoing, and by that July Leigh Whannell was working on the story.
• Untitled Scorpion King reboot: A reboot of The Scorpion King film series was in development since 2020. Jonathan Herman was hired as screenwriter, with the plot taking place during modern-day and involving a contemporary adaptation of Mathayus of Akkad / Scorpion King. Dwayne Johnson, who started his acting career as the titular role in The Mummy Returns, was attached as a producer alongside Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia. The project is a joint-venture production between Universal Pictures and Seven Bucks Productions.
• Untitled film: An untitled project was in development since November 2020, with Channing Tatum attached to star. Wes Tooke was hired as a screenwriter, from a story written by Reid Carolin, while Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were attached as co-producers alongside Tatum, Carolin, Peter Kiernan, and Aditya Sood. The plot is described as "a modern-day, tongue-in-cheek thriller", while being "a bold genre reinvention of one of the studio's most beloved characters from the Monsters Universe". The project is a joint-venture production between Universal Pictures, Lord Miller Productions, Free Association Productions.
• Van Helsing: Originally announced in 2015, with Rupert Sanders in early negotiations to serve as a director for a reboot of Van Helsing, with a script co-written by Jon Spaihts and Eric Heisserer, the project was ultimately placed on hold. By December 2020, the project had re-entered development with Julius Avery serving as director, as well as doing a rewrite of an original script by Eric Pearson. James Wan was hired as producer, with the project intended to be a joint-production venture between Universal Pictures and Atomic Monster.
• Phantom: After previously attempting an adaptation that would have been a part of the cancelled interconnected universe film series, Universal purchased a speculative screenplay in December 2021, written by John Fusco which will feature a modern-day reboot of The Phantom of the Opera. The writer reportedly authored the script after inspiration he received while working on his own record albums during self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fusco determined to write a script that would be a musical in nature, while taking place in the French Quarter, Vieux Carré area of New Orleans in the United States, instead of the novel's plot location in France. As he incorporated aspects of rhythm and blues, jazz, neo-soul, and funk; the story will utilize French Creole nightlife culture of the geographical area, including voodoo and Mardi Gras, as well as the romance and mystery aspects of the original. Harvey Mason Jr., John Legend, and Mike Jackson are signed onto the project as producers; with the project being a joint-venture production between Universal Pictures, Harvey Mason Media, and Get Lifted Film Co. in a collaborative effort.
• The Creature from the Black Lagoon: Universal attempted various incarnations of producing a remake centered around the titular Gill-man throughout a number of decades (beginning as early as 1982), including intended projects directed by: John Landis, John Carpenter, Peter Jackson, Ivan Reitman, Guillermo del Toro, and Breck Eisner, while various writers were attached through the years. Some time in 2004, James Gunn pitched an adaptation of the character but the studio passed on adapting the script; del Toro's material from working on his version was notably later repurposed for the unrelated Academy Award winning The Shape of Water (2017). Beginning in June 2017, the project was initially announced as being in development as one of the film installments of the Dark Universe, prior to the shared universe being abandoned in favor of standalone films instead. In August 2024, a new project described as "grounded" and "modernized" based on the titular character was announced as being in development, with James Wan attached as producer in addition to being in early discussions to serve as director. By September, Sean Tretta was hired to write the script, which is based on an original story co-authored by Wan, Rafael Jordan, and Bryan Coyne. The project is a joint-venture production between Universal Pictures, and the newly-merged Atomic Monster and Blumhouse Productions.

Dark Universe: In development as early as October 2013, the series of movies was intended to relaunch the Universal Monsters characters, through a format similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and DC Extended Universe. The projects were officially announced in July 2014, as Universal hired Chris Morgan and Alex Kurtzman to oversee the development of the rebooted modern-day versions of the Universal Monsters, with the duo's first involvements beginning with additional photography scenes filmed for Dracual Untold (2014) which positioned the characters of the movie in modern-day. After the movie underperformed its connections to the Dark Unvirse were downplayed, with The Mummy (2017) repositioned as the official start of the new film series. In May 2017, the slate of reimagined incarnations of titular monsters was officially titled, by the studio through a press conference including official logo, website, trailer video, and scored theme music composed by Danny Elfman. Universal Pictures worked in collaboration with Kurtzman and Morgan, to create a writer's room of various contributors to create the stories which would later be expanded into scripts, where the movies were intended to have horror as their primary genre, as opposed to the action adventure nature of the studio's previous remakes. The Mummy introduced its ancient titular monster (played by Sofia Boutella), alongside the heroic character-turned monster portrayed by Tom Cruise who's monstrous origins depicted in the film were intended to be expanded upon in later installments. Prior to the film's release, Universal Pictures announced the additional main cast of additional characters for the intended series alongside Cruise, including Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde, Johnny Depp as Dr. Griffin / the Invisible Man, and Javier Bardem as the Frankenstein Monster. The studio also announced an official slate of movies including:

• Frankenstein:
• Wolf Man:
• Bride of Frankenstein:
• Dracula:
• Creature from the Black Lagoon:
• Phantom of the Opera:
• Hunchback of Notre Dame:
• The Invisible Man:
• Van Helsing:
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:

Following poor critical reception, and an underwhelming box office performance of The Mummy (2017) however, Universal postponed all plans for the Dark Universe slate of films. In January 2018, the production studio began reconfiguring their approach to the Universal Monsters, and following the departures of Kurtzman and Morgan from their roles as co-architects of the franchise, the studio abandoned the planned shared cinematic universe in favor of individualized standalone adaptations of the monsters.

This table includes the Universal Monster characters and their respective actors for each movie in the franchise. Additional characters include recurring primary characters of the Universal Studios Monsters franchise.

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Character	Classic era					Remakes & spin-offs	Modern era
	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s
Dr. Henry Jekyll Mr. Edward Hyde	King Baggot				Boris Karloff & Eddie Parker	Stephen Fisher & Robbie Coltrane	Russell Crowe
Quasimodo The Hunchback of Notre Dame		Lon Chaney
The Phantom of the Opera		Lon Chaney		Claude Rains
Count Dracula			Bela Lugosi Carlos Villar	John Carradine Bela Lugosi		Frank Langella Richard Roxburgh	Luke Evans Nicolas Cage Javier Botet Matthew Goode
Frankenstein's Monster			Boris Karloff	Lon Chaney Jr. Bela Lugosi Glenn Strange		Shuler Hensley
Imhotep The Mummy			Boris Karloff			Arnold Vosloo
Dr. Jack Griffin The Invisible Man		Claude Rains	Referenced				Oliver Jackson-Cohen
Bride of Frankenstein			Elsa Lanchester
Dr. Wilfred Glenn Werewolf of London			Henry Hull
Countess Marya Zaleska Dracula's Daughter			Gloria Holden				Alisha Weir
Geoffrey Radcliffe The Invisible Man				Vincent Price
Kharis The Mummy				Tom Tyler Lon Chaney Jr.
Kitty Carol The Invisible Woman				Virginia Bruce
Lawrence "Larry" Talbot The Wolf Man				Lon Chaney Jr.		Benicio del Toro	Christopher Abbott
Frank "Raymond" Griffin The Invisible Man				Jon Hall
Count Alucard Son of Dracula				Lon Chaney Jr.
Robert Griffin The Invisible Man				Jon Hall
Phyllis Allenby She-Wolf of London				June Lockhart
Gill-Man The Creature					Ben Chapman Ricou Browning Tom Hennesy Don Megowan
Klaris The Mummy					Eddie Parker
Mathayus of Akkad The Scorpion King						Dwayne Johnson Michael Copon Victor Webster Zach McGowan
Han the Dragon Emperor The Mummy						Jet Li
Dr. Heinrich "Henry" von Frankenstein			Colin Clive	Cedric Hardwicke		Samuel West
Brides of Dracula			Geraldine Dvorak, Cornelia Thaw, & Dorothy Tree Uncredited actresses			Silvia Colloca, Elena Anaya, & Josie Maran
Robert Montague "R. M." Renfield			Dwight Frye Pablo Álvarez Rubio				Nicholas Hoult
Ygor			Bela Lugosi			Kevin J. O'Connor
Prof. Van Helsing			Edward Van Sloan Eduardo Arozamena			Hugh Jackman

Series	Season(s)	Episode(s)	Originally released			Creator(s)	Executive producer	Status
			First released	Last released	Network
Monster Force	1	13	April 9, 1994 (1994-04-09)	July 16, 1994 (1994-07-16)	Syndication	Marv Wolfman	Sheldon S. Wiseman	Ended
The Mummy: The Animated Series	2	26	September 29, 2001 (2001-09-29)	June 7, 2003 (2003-06-07)	Kids' WB	Stephen Sommers and Thomas Pugsley & Greg Klein	Stephen Sommers	Ended

Monster Force (1994)

Created by comic book author and artist Marv Wolfman, in collaboration with Universal Cartoon Studios, the show was developed to reintroduce the Universal Monsters to child audiences. The plot centers around a group of college-age students and their professor Dr. Reed Crawley to form a squad call the Monster Force, who through the use of some supernatural skills and technological weaponry must combat Dracula and his army called the Creatures of the Night. The series aired through broadcast syndication from April to July 1994. With mild viewership, the show was canceled after its first season.

The Mummy: The Animated Series (2001–2003)

Created by Stephen Sommers in collaboration with Thomas Pugsley and Greg Klein, the show is a spin-off animated adaptation of the film series which had starred Brendan Fraser. The television show centers around Imhotep / The Mummy, while following the adventures of Rick O'Connell and his family. Featuring the voices of Jim Cummings, John Schneider, Chris Marquette, Grey DeLisle, and an ensemble of supporting cast, the show was marketed towards younger audiences through Universal Cartoon Studios. Airing on The WB through the Kids' WB! programming block from September 2001 to June 2003, the show received critical acclaim while some critics called the release superior to the feature-length sequels to the live-action 1999 film.

Film	U.S. release date	Director(s)	Screenwriter(s)	Producer
Abbott and Costello Meet the Creature from the Black Lagoon	February 21, 1954 (1954-02-21)	Sid Smith & Edward Sobol	John Grant and Hugh Wedlock & Howard Snyder	Edward Sobol
Van Helsing: The London Assignment	May 11, 2004 (2004-05-11)	Sharon Bridgeman	Garfield Reeves-Stevens & Judith Reeves-Stevens	John Kafka

Abbott and Costello Meet the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

Developed in collaboration with Colgate-Palmolive-Peet, the short was released during The Colgate Comedy Hour as a live-television comedy sketch created to introduce audiences to The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Continuing the trend with previous installments where Bud Abbott and Lou Costello meet the Universal Monsters, the short follows a plot where the two actors explore the studio's prop room which references some of their previous interactions with the various characters, while encountering the Invisible Man, Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange), and the Gill-Man (Ben Chapman).

Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004)

Developed as an anime-styled prologue to the 2004 feature-length film, the short was directed by Sharon Bridgeman from a script written by Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens. The plot takes place chronologically immediately before the live-action film and follows Gabriel Van Helsing's investigation in the grisly murders plaguing Victorian era London, and his discovery of a monstrous killer named Mr. Hyde. Marketed as the prequel to the theatrical release, it was produced for the straight-to-home video market by Universal and was received with mixed reception.

The franchise has received a variety of home video packing boxsets including: The Classic Collection (1991-1994), the Classic Monster Collection (1999), The Legacy Collection (2004), the Essential Collection (2012), and the Complete Collection (2018).

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Universal Monsters novels

Title	Author	Publication date	Publisher	Notes	Ref(s)
Return of the Wolfman	Jeff Rovin	January 1, 1999 (1999-01-01)	Berkley Boulevard Books	—
Universal Monsters - Dracula: Return of Evil	Larry Mike Garmon	August 3, 2006 (2006-08-03)	Scholastic, Incorporated	Part of Larry Mike Garmon's Universal Monsters series
Universal Monsters - The Wolf Man: Blood Moon Rising		August 6, 2006 (2006-08-06)
Universal Monsters - Frankenstein: Anatomy of Terror		March 24, 2009 (2009-03-24)
Universal Monsters - The Mummy: Book of the Dead		February 1, 2002 (2002-02-01)
Universal Monsters - Creature from the Black Lagoon: Blackwater Horror		March 24, 2009 (2009-03-24)
Universal Monsters - Bride of Frankenstein: Vow of Vengeance		September 1, 2009 (2009-09-01)
Dracula: Asylum	Paul Witcover	April 12, 2006 (2006-04-12)	Dark Horse Comics	—
Frankenstein: The Shadow of Frankenstein	Stefan Petrucha	July 26, 2006 (2006-07-26)		—
Creature from the Black Lagoon: Time's Black Lagoon	Paul Di Filippo	August 23, 2006 (2006-08-23)		—
The Mummy: Dark Resurrection	Michael Paine	October 3, 2007 (2007-10-03)		—
The Wolf Man: Hunter's Moon	Michael Jan Friedman	October 3, 2007 (2007-10-03)		—
The Bride of Frankenstein: Pandora's Bride	Elizabeth Hand	December 5, 2007 (2007-12-05)		—

Dark Horse Comics series

Title	Writer	Pencilller	Inker	Colorist	Letterer	Editor	Designer	Publication date
Universal Monsters: Frankenstein	Den Beauvais					Dan Thorsland	Scott Tice	May 1, 1993
Universal Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon	Steve Moncuse	Arthur Adams	Terry Austin	Matt Hollingsworth	Lois Buhalis			August 1, 1993
Universal Monsters: Dracula	Dan Vado	Jonathon D. Smith			Clem Robins			October 1, 1993
Universal Monsters: The Mummy	Dan Jolley	Tony Harris	Tony Harris	Matt Hollingsworth	Lois Buhalis			November 1, 1993
Universal Monsters: Cavalcade of Horror								January 11, 2006

Skybound Entertainment series

Title	Writer	Pencilller	Inker	Colorist	Letterer	Editor	Designer	Premiere date	Finale date
Universal Monsters: Dracula	James Tynion IV					Martin Simmonds		October 25, 2023	January 24, 2024
Universal Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives!	Dan Watters					Matthew Roberts	Dave Stewart	April 24, 2024	July 24, 2024
Universal Monsters: Frankenstein	Michael Walsh						Toni Marie Griiffin	August 28, 2024	TBA
Universal Monsters: The Mummy	Erin Hicks					Lee Loughridge		March 2025

• Universal's Halloween Horror Nights: Since 1991 at Universal Parks & Resorts have featured characters from the Universal Classic Monsters franchise. From 2006 to 2014, the characters also appeared in the year-round walk-through attraction, Universal's House of Horrors, at Universal Studios Hollywood. The franchise is also the central theme of Universal's Horror Make-Up Show. The live show opened in 1990 at Universal Studios Florida and is still in operation.
• Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride: Opening in 2004 at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood, the roller coaster with dark ride elements is based on the first two Mummy films of the remake era.
• Universal Epic Universe: In June 2024, it was revealed that Universal would be repurposing the concept and title of cancelled shared universe of films through Universal Destinations & Experiences' planned expansion of the Orlando park location. As a part of the expansion, a portion of the park named Universal Epic Universe will be developed to incorporate and center around the Universal Monsters, and will be titled Dark Universe. Thematically inspired by each of its films, the park is intended to serve as a modern day follow-up to the original films, where attendees can explore a town named Darkmoor Village. There they discover that the great-great-granddaughter of Henry Frankenstein named Victoria, has continued followed in the mad scientist footsteps of her family and has begun creating monsters of her own. Visitors attending the park will see the events of a plot unfold, where her latest experiment which was intended to bring all of the Universal Monsters under her control backfires as a result of Dracula's revolt. The Dark Universe will include attractions, locales from the films, a number of rides, and a combination of actors, animatronics, special effects, and cutting-edge technology that was developed for the park. The Dark Universe portion of the Universal Epic Universe park will open on May 22, 2025. The location will include Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, Wolf Man, Bride of Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Mummy, Invisible Man, and various others from the studio's films.
• Universal Horror Unleashed: In 2025, a haunted house attraction will feature characters from the Universal Classic Monsters franchise.

The Universal Monsters have been attributed with directly influencing the horror genre and its filmmakers in the decades that followed, as well as also retroactively adding additional depth to the source material for the characters. The popularity of the franchise inspired decades of horror movies that followed, including leading to various unrelated media based on the characters and adapting in a variety of means.

• The Munsters franchise (1964–2022): A comedic sitcom formatted parody of horror, where a family of benign monsters navigate their existence among normal American experiences. Produced in collaboration with Universal Television, the franchise was able to employ the copyrighted designs of the Universal Monsters for the Munster family. Versions of Frankenstein's Monster, Count Dracula, the Gill-Man, Dr. Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, Phantom of the Opera, Bride of Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde feature throughout its installments.
• Mad Monster Party? (1967): Developed by Rankin/Bass Productions Inc. as a stop motion animated musical comedy, the adaptation features incarnations of Universal Monsters with distinct variations to avoid copyright, including: Dr. Frankenstein (voiced by Boris Karloff), Frankenstein's Monster, Bride of Frankenstein, Count Dracula, the Wolf Man, The Mummy, Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and Invisible Man among various other monster-themed characters. Directed by Jules Bass, with a script written by Len Korobkin and Harvey Kurtzman, based on an original story from Arthur Rankin Jr., the plot centers around Dr. Frankenstein's invitation for all monsters to attend a retirement celebration at Castle Frankenstein to name is successor. The feature-length film has been cited as a cult classic in the decades since its release.

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