Javier Bardem In Talks For Universal’s New FRANKENSTEIN

According to Variety, Javier Bardem is in talks to join Universal's latest version of Frankenstein. Y'know, the one that'll be a part of this "Universal Monsters Shared Universe" thing they're trying to get off the ground. 

Here's the news:

Sources tell Variety that Javier Bardem is in talks to star as Frankenstein in Universal’s cinematic universe with rebooted versions of classic monster movies. It’s currently unknown which movie Bardem would first appear in, as The Mummy, the first film in the monster universe, is about to wrap shooting.

Variety goes on to say that Bardem would appear in "another monster movie before his own project", but that's tangential to the Bride Of Frankenstein movie that's also in the works.

Right now, the other planned Universal Monsters movies include a Johnny Depp-starring Invisible Man (the hat budget alone on that film is said to be in the $50M range) and a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde movie starring Russell Crowe.

Universal has a lot going on, in other words, and they're hiring up some serious talent to pull it off. If you're thinking, "Wow, maybe it's time I started taking this entire enterprise seriously!", I'd recommend taking a peek at these set photos from The Mummy. Do with those what you will.

Anyway, Variety doesn't say whether or not Bardem would be playing Frankenstein's monster or the good doctor (and given how often the two are conflated, we're not prepared to assume that it's the latter), but if Bardem takes the role they'll probably clear that up for us.

On a final note, I still can't believe we're actually doing this.