So much for Universal not emphasizing the “cinematic universe” thing…

Fresh off the presses, Universal/Comcast Corp. just dropped a massive press release with images, videos, website likes and a deluge of details, many of them admittedly aspirational and theoretical, concerning what is now known as their “Dark Universe.” That is the official name for the wave of big-budget classic monsters movies coming our way, beginning with Dracula Untold The Mummy.

Said Tom Cruise action-adventure, due June 9th, is intended to be the first in a connected batch of horror-themed biggies, and up until recently the general audiences marketing hasn’t been that upfront about highlighting said connection. Well, with 2.5 weeks to go and a desire to get some attention as we all obsess over Pirates 5 and Wonder Woman, the black cat is entirely out of the bag. For better or worse, they are no longer playing coy with a “wait and see” approach.

First, the most important news: The next film in the franchise/shared universe is going to be Bill Condon’s The Bride of Frankenstein, presumably starring Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s monster. Yes, they are skipping the traditional Frankenstein story, which I guess is the monster movie equivalent of skipping the origin story. No word on A) if Dr. Frankenstein will appear in the film or B) who is playing the title role, although (speculation alert) even money says someone like Charlize Theron (especially if Atomic Blonde plays big in late July), long-rumored favorite Angelina Jolie , Salma Hayek or Nicole Kidman gets the gig.

The film, written by David Koepp, will be slotted for February 14, 2019 (that’s a Thursday), continuing Universal’s commitment to having kinky, adult-skewing erotic/romantic thrillers available each Valentine’s Day season.

Also of note, we’re getting what amounts to a theme music for this “world of gods and monsters,” composed by… take a guess. No, really, who is the first name that popped into your head? Yup, the correct answer is Danny Elfman. Elfman’s intro theme will play with the Dark Universe logo before The Mummy and every other would-be Dark Universe movie for as long as this franchise sticks around.

Whoever gets the title role in The Bride of Frankenstein will join Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s monster, Johnny Depp as The Invisible Man, Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde), Sofia Boutella as the title character in The Mummy and Tom Cruise as… that guy who fights the mummy and presumably sticks around for a return engagement. We heard rumblings ages ago about Scarlett Johansson headlining The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Dwayne Johnson as the Wolfman, but I think the statute of limitations have expired on those rumors. If they don’t want to pay Leonardo DiCaprio $75 million to play Dracula, I’d suggest Oscar Isaac or Chiwetel Ejiofor.