Universal Studios is rebooting its stable of monsters for a shared cinematic universe. Before the first film hits theaters, Showtime and writer/producer John Logan created their own sort of monster reboot: Penny Dreadful, which ran for three seasons before its controversial ending.

The series was perhaps the most complex and mature examination of the famous monsters ever, because—freed from the confines of a few movies—it had the luxury of more than 20 hours to explore the themes of life, death, curses, family, shame, guilt, and evil.

What can the filmmakers behind Universal's new monster universe learn from Penny Dreadful? Here are a few thoughts.

Old-School Ghouls

Universal's 2004 film Van Helsing showed what extreme CGI can do to its monstrous characters. Director Stephen Sommers elongated the Wolfman's arms, gave Dracula a super-size mouth of fangs, and created a Shrek-like Mr. Hyde. Penny Dreadful, probably for budgetary reasons, kept to practical effects, prosthetics, and make-up, just like the original films. The vampires were wild-eyed and pale, and Dracula himself was never shown as anything but a normal British gentleman. The gruesome witches, shown in the nude with piercings and lacerations, were simply wearing bodysuits. Frankenstein's monster and his Bride had only scars. And the show made a great choice of an old-school Wolfman, wearing regular clothes, with nothing but prosthetics on his head and hands. One of the scariest characters was a talking doll, operated by a single puppeteer.

The Universal films have an enormous budget and can afford convincing, subtle digital effects. But if these characters are going to be on screen for long stretches, and if the audience is supposed to relate to them, maybe the studio will show some restraint. After all, the initial images of the Mummy look classic and natural.

Eerily Serious

A man who turns into a wolf. A fallen angel in love. A hedonist who can't die. These are some absurd ideas, and it's easy to laugh at them. Universal itself started winking at the monsters with Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Since then, we've had comic versions from Young Frankenstein to Vampire in Brooklyn to Teen Wolf.

Penny Dreadful never played anything for laughs. It showed the true horror of cheating death, killing without remorse, and being outcast by society. The series solemnly depicted torture, madness, oppression, and evil. It explored the toll taken on those who hunt the monsters, or those hunted by them. The monsters themselves are shown as tormented and mostly sympathetic—until they kill again. Characters often cried. Hell, they wailed. They wondered if they could stand even one more day of such horrors. And, of course, some major players actually died, and weren't brought back with science or magic.

The new Universal movies will be in the action-adventure genre, not horror, so I imagine these themes won't be as pronounced. But Chris Morgan—one of the minds behind the shared universe—has said, "This is not a heightened world. We’re exploring issues of family identity and questions of, ‘Where do I belong in the world?'" That bodes well.

Mastery of Public Domain

The Mummy is hinted at, but never seen, in Penny Dreadful. There's no Invisible Man or Phantom of the Opera, either. And the Creature from the Black Lagoon wasn't from the right time period. But the series looked beyond the Universal canon to other public-domain characters of the genre. Thus, we got to see Dorian Gray play a large role. Dr. Jekyll appeared in the third season (in perhaps one of the longest teases in TV history). The second season revolved around witches. We got some Native American mysticism, and there was even an appearance by Lucifer himself.



Universal doesn't need to be limited to its official roster of monsters, since just about every character from gothic horror is now in the public domain. It has already been announced that Dr. Jekyll will appear in The Mummy, though the character isn't a Universal classic monster. Could there also be real mediums, psychics, or witches that have encountered the paranormal in the new cinematic universe? What about ghosts? Zombies? Other supernatural creatures? A resurrected Jack the Ripper? Bigfoot? The Jersey Devil? If magic and extreme science exist in the films' version of the modern world, there are many possibilities from classic literature and folklore. While I love the classic monsters, I hope Universal doesn't shy away from other candidates—they've got a lot of movies to fill.

Global Ghastliness

Most of the major characters in gothic horror fiction are straight, white, Christian males. Penny Dreadful added some diversity: the African Sembene, the Native American Kaetenay, the gay Ferdinand, the transgender Angelique. At the center, of course, was a woman, the fascinating, powerful, tragic Vanessa Ives. This is an admirable nod to diversity in a genre not known for it.

The new Universal films will take place in the modern world, so there's no reason the monsters or their adversaries should be confined to any one race, religion, or gender. We're already off to a great start with a female Mummy, and possibly a Hispanic actor (Javier Bardem) portraying Frankenstein's monster. The film series' lead, Tom Cruise, is a white guy, but hopefully he will team up with more diverse characters across the films.



And what about other religions and folklore? Asian mythology gets little attention in the Universal canon; maybe that could change. Films taking place in America could easily bring in Native American or Mexican mysticism. Islam includes angels of death, genies, and its own spin on some Judeo-Christian myths like Adam and Eve. And we can't forget good, old New Orleans-style voodoo. I hope Universal will explore these cultures, and find some new forms of evil to scare us.

Inhuman Humanity

I doubt anyone cried during the original Universal monster films. I doubt they cried at any point during the Mummy trilogy that started in the 90s. But, based on comment sections and Reddit, people sure cried at the deaths and losses throughout Penny Dreadful. Gothic horror is, at its core, an examination of the dark side of humanity. Monsters and magic aside, it's about real people struggling with real emotions. John Logan understood that and crafted an exquisite series around tormented characters doing all they can to counter evil, not just embodied by supernatural creatures, but the evil within themselves.



Action and adventure films are awesome. But I hope Universal doesn't forget the heart of these stories, dating back to the original novels. In some ways, I think the reboot universe could be considered a success if, at even just one moment, it can make the audience cry.



How else do you think Penny Dreadful could help the new Universal monster movies? Howl away in the comments.