Javier Bardem Is a (Frankenstein's) Monster
Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 8:00AM Get ready for more reboot franchise mayhem because Universal's Monster Cinematic Universe is growing: Javier Bardem has signed on to play Frankenstein's Monster.
Without any superheros to rely on, the studio is going back to their canon of classic horror icons and roping in some big names. Tom Cruise is the lead in next year's The Mummy revamp, with Russell Crowe also appearing as Dr. Jekyll. Johnny Depp has been confirmed as the Invisible Man for his own stand alone film. Their names may carry cache but each is in need of a (non-Mission: Impossible) hit we can get excited about, so here's hoping they can sommon more than another Van Helsing.
But Bardem's casting is easily the most exciting of the bunch. Let's not forget the actor does creepy so well that he got an Oscar for it, even if his most terrifying feat was his hairstyle in The Counselor. One of Bardem's strongest gifts is his powerful physical prescence and that should make the character a natural fit - and for the inevitable Bride of Frankenstine Penelope Cruz is right there!
With Dwayne Johnson rumored to be taking on the Wolf Man, this begs the question: who should be our next Dracula?
Reader Comments (19)
Dracula should be played by either Gaspard Ulliel or Gael Garcia Bernal.
Dracula should be Gillian Anderson. Period.
Matt St.Clair: Honestly? If we were casting Bernal or Ullliel at all, I'd prefer them for The Wolfman and The Rock for Dracula. Why? Brooding intense vampires may be many things (fun to watch/read being among them), but they're not really "scary." Christopher Lee is the scariest Dracula because you can believe he'd be able to blend in to high society and charm their pants off and The Rock's biggest, borderline only, strength (even more than physical strength) is he can sell charm.
John T: Gillian Anderson, The Wolf-Woman. (What? It would work better than The Rock.)
Seriously, unless they're doing a Lou Ferrigno thing, The Rock, who is a better actor than he often gets credit for, is still a TERRIBLE choice for The Wolfman.
Didn't Universal already have Luke Evans for that?
Dietrich: Dracula Untold was successful enough financially to have not lost money, sure, but I'm not sure it was critically successful enough to justify continuing with that actor.
Have never understood the failure of Joe Johnston's "The Wolfman" in 2010. To me it was the best Wolfman movie ever. With Benicio Del Toro and Emily Blunt both in sensational form. There have been lots of good Draculas. And - of course - Lugosi's iconic. But I like Gary Oldman's version best. What a performance! And what an immersive movie experience! Certainly any portrayal of the Frankenstein monster has to be measured against Karloff's sublime creation. An impossibly high bench mark.
People keep giving him ugly villains. Is that because he's not American? An American actor that looked like him would be given only handsome leading parts, like Clooney 10-15 years ago.
Ken: I like Gary Oldman, but it's the same problem of "this is fun to watch" isn't the same as "genuinely scary."
With those comment reactions I'm still mostly sceptical of all these. Tom Cruise as the presumed hero directed by Alex Kurtzman? Sofia Boutella as The Mummy? (Can she even act? Yes, her character in Kingsman was "cool", but gave no sign she could actually act.) Russell Crowe as Jekyll and Hyde? Johnny Depp as The Invisible Man? Bardem as Frankenstein? The Rock as, possibly, The Wolfman? In one way or another, these all sound like really bad ideas.
So, here's who I'd cast for each monster:
The Mummy (female): Eva Green. (C'mon. Instant upgrade.)
Doctor Henry Jekyll/Mister Edward Hyde: Tom Felton (I know this is kind of young, but I think he could sell it, and he hasn't really been given a big opportunity.)
Dr. Jane/Jill Griffin, The Invisible Woman: Katie Jarvis (Yes, I'm hammering her in everywhere I can. But Claude Rains only had one film prior to HIS Invisible Man and do we really want to see Johnny Depp play "crazy" again? Didn't think so.)
Frankenstein's Monster: Brad Pitt. (What made Karloff so great as Frankenstein's Monster was that he sold something that was equal parts monstrous and child-like. I don't really see Bardem selling that latter part at all, but I could absolutely see Pitt pulling off something different but equal with both parts.)
Dr. Henry Frankenstein (no, they're not calling him Victor): Eddie Redmayne.
Elizabeth "Liz" Talbot, The Wolf-Woman: Gillian Anderson. (Really like the idea of Gillian Anderson being in this franchise, but not sure Dracula is the best use of her.)
Dracula: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. (As I mentioned, I'm decidedly in the Christopher Lee camp as far as "scary vampire" goes. And, though this is definitely a very...different...idea, I do think this could work.)
So, what does everyone think of that franchise? Does it sound plausible? More importantly, does it sound good?
People keep giving him ugly villains. Is that because he's not American? An American actor that looked like him would be given only handsome leading parts, like Clooney 10-15 years ago.
Partially. Foreign actors who look like your typical white boys would be shoehorned in multiplex movies as the lead. Since Javier is older and is seen as Latin despite being Spanish has to settle for character work stateside.
NuDrac must be played by a Fiennes or Géza Röhrig (but he'd never do it, would he?).
The only American movies who realized Bardem is a HANDSOME MOVIE STAR, in capitals, were Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Eat Pray Love.
It's excruciating to watch Javier Bardem being criminally underused by Hollywood.
He has an active film career outside of Hollywood which earned him two best actor Oscar nominations. Grieve only for talent who relies on Hollywood to work at all.
Penny Dreadful isn't even cold in the ground yet and we're already getting another Frankenstein's Monster interpretation. :(
With all these STAR treatment for monster movies, it seems like they are rebooting League of the Extraordinary Gentlemen instead, which is fine...
Who is directing/ writing these films? Barden as Frankenstein is a good choice- "Dracula: Untold" was pure garbage. "The Wolfman" (2010) wasn't bad. I doubt any of these will come close to the late "Penny Dreadful"
Everyone: Nothing? Just...nothing?
Joe & Jaragon: I'm shocked anyone actually liked that Benicio Del Toro Wolfman. I thought it was just awful. They got almost everything wrong.
3Hurtful: Good point on Bardem.
Volvagia, don't call out others then give mostly terrible suggestions.