In recent promotional materials regarding their theme park experiences, it looks as though Universal may be teasing what their currently under-construction new addition to the Orlando-based theme park, Epic Universe, could be. And fans of the Universal Monsters may be getting an unexpected but potentially satisfying crossover, in the form of a ride that blends The Creature from the Black Lagoon with The Bride of Frankenstein.
If you haven’t had the chance to visit Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe, I cannot recommend the experience enough. The theme park is a genuinely insane accomplishment of design, engineering, and meticulous immersive storytelling on a ludicrously large scale. There are a handful of lands within the park, each based on an established IP from Universal’s back catalog. But let’s be honest, you’re here, reading an article on a horror-themed site; there’s only one land that you and I really want to talk about, and it’s the Universal Monsters-themed Dark Universe.
Dark Universe is a whole subsection of the park that feels like the classic Universal Monsters films brought to life with staggering fidelity. It is home to walk-around characters like Igor, The Bride, and the Invisible Man; has a ridiculous level of gothic ambiance; and is anchored by the single greatest attraction in the entire park: Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. The ride sees guests being welcomed into the Frankenstein castle and coming face-to-face with life-sized animatronics of some of the most iconic monsters from Universal’s history, all within the confines of a thrilling and breathlessly exciting thrill ride. It absolutely rules, but there are two characters who are notably shorted within the actual ride itself: the Gillman and The Bride.
The Gillman does at least get a single memorable jump scare during the ride, where a half-submerged animatronic lunges at riders. The Bride, however, is nowhere to be found on the ride at all. Despite this, the character has remained enormously popular as a walk-around character for the park, leading many to wonder if she could be getting an attraction of her own in the near future.
Recently, Universal did begin construction on a new ride for this section of the park, and rumors began to swirl about what the ride could be. For years, it had been teased that this could be a Creature from the Black Lagoon-centric ride. However, more recently, rumors emerged that it might shift focus to The Bride of Frankenstein. But now, it appears that Universal is teasing that it could be both simultaneously: a crossover between the two properties.
Recent promotional art shows Gillman lusting after The Bride from his swamp, teasing how the two characters’ central storylines could converge. After all, Gillman has a history of going after women who he can’t have, and The Bride has a history of being courted by monstrous oafs. For my money’s worth, this is a great idea that embraces the whole deal with Dark Universe; guests want to see the monsters interacting with one another and unexpectedly crossing paths, and this is a great way to further that.
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