Dark Universe Will Bring Classic Movie Monsters to Life in the Epic Universe Theme Park

I don’t get that hyped about stuff, at least not outwardly. Even if it’s something I really love, or something I’m extremely excited for, I keep it inside. I’ve never been comfortable expressing excitement, and I think I get that from my dad’s family. I don’t know. (I am sure, though, that you, as almost certainly a stranger to me, could not possibly care less about my personal attitude towards hype.) I’m leading with this for a reason, though: it’s because I am really hyped for Epic Universe, and especially its Dark Universe world, which is based on the classic Universal Monsters characters. And I was beyond excited even before Universal released its first look into the land earlier today.

Oh, and don’t worry: it’s based on the classic Universal Monsters, and not that Dark Universe—the series of interconnected movies starring Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Johnny Depp, Sofia Boutella, and Javier Bardem that was announced through a tweet in May 2017 and then almost immediately cancelled after Cruise and Boutella’s Mummy movie flopped in the U.S.

As you can see in the video below, Dark Universe recreates iconic settings and scenes from Universal Monster movies like Frankenstein, The Wolfman, and Dracula, with an eye for detail and realism that seems to match the various Harry Potter lands strewn across Universal’s theme parks. The video introduces us to the village of Darkmoor, where all the Universal Monsters now live, and gives us a glimpse into rides like Curse of the Werewolf—a spinning roller coaster themed on The Wolfman—and Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, an allegedly groundbreaking dark ride set inside Frankenstein’s castle that will feature all of the monsters together. It also reveals two restaurants: Das Stakehaus, a steakhouse run by vampire familiars, and The Burning Blade Tavern, a bar where monster hunters hang out. (It’s inside a flaming windmill. An actual windmill that will be perpetually on fire is being built in Orlando, and it has a bar inside of it. Do you see why I’m hyped?) And in a monstrous spin on Harry Potter’s wands and robes, Dark Universe will also be home to the Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience, where guests can pay to be made up like their favorite monster, and are then allowed to run around the park scaring people, I guess.

Don’t just read about it, though: watch the video below, where artists from Universal Creative reveal details about the new land while sharing concept art. Given Epic Universe is deep in construction and scheduled to open in 2025, I’m guessing the finished product will be pretty close to that concept art, or else they wouldn’t be first releasing it so late in the game. And below that video you can find a short animated overview of the land that Universal also shared today.