Having already filled its upcoming monster universe with A-list talent including Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp and Russell Crowe, Universal is now eyeing another star to revive a famous character.
Sources tell Variety that Javier Bardem is in talks to star as Frankenstein in Universal’s classic monster movie series. It’s currently unknown which monster feature Bardem would first appear in. Cruise and Crowe’s “The Mummy,” the first film in the monster series, is nearly done with filming.
Universal is also developing a “Bride of Frankenstein” feature, but sources indicate that Bardem’s Frankenstein would likely appear in another monster pic first with the possibility of getting a spin-off down the road.
Last summer, the studio tapped Alex Kurtzman (“Star Trek”) and Chris Morgan to help develop the monster pics as connected universe.
Ironically, Bardem had been approached about playing the Dr. Jekyll role opposite Cruise in “The Mummy,” but ultimately passed on the part, which opened the door for Crowe.
Bardem was most recently seen in Sean Penn’s “The Last Face” and is currently filming Darren Aronofsky’s untitled film opposite Jennifer Lawrence. He also has “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” which bows next summer.