As the new Invisible Man movie, produced by Blumhouse and directed by Leigh Whannell, debuts this month, there seems to be an assumption within the HHN community that Universal’s classic monsters will return for the new year’s event. Whether it’s the new film, Tristan Eaton’s amazing new mural of the Universal monsters on the backlot, or the two mazes designed in their honor for Halloween Horror Nights, Universal looks as if they are finally focussing on the monsters that made the company what it is today. While some attempts, most namely the failed Dark Universe, have faired less than well economically and critically, new developments look as if they are still on the horizon. The largest project focussing on the monsters is the speculated new land in Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe, a brand new park for the company, although we could see the monsters return earlier for both coasts.
The first maze based on the monsters debuted in 2018 to much fanfare and positive audience reactions. 2019’s spin-off Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, partially based off the 1943 film of the same name, was less popular among audiences, but was still seen as one of the event’s best ever mazes by fans. With the praise, both attractions have garnered, along with Universal’s new-found interest with the intellectual property, as well as creative director John Murdy’s passion for the monsters, a third installment to the maze series has a high chance of coming. With that being said, where do you take the story from here?
John has previously discussed that his intentions for sequels to 2018 maze would be pairings up of classic monsters, instead of direct sequels. Due to their posters being the only ones not of Frankenstein nor the Wolfman in last year’s vault room, I speculate that 2020’s Universal Monster’s maze will be Dracula vs. The Invisible Man. Dracula was given a supporting role in 2018’s maze, but all fans wanted to see more of him, preferably with his Orlando realized, more monstrous design. A new show based on the character has premiered on Netflix, putting Dracula back into the zeitgeist full force, perfect for the heavy social media involved event. The Invisible Man was also a supporting character of 2018’s maze, but his sequence was commonly seen as the show stealer of the attraction. This, along with the new film and its HHN fan directed marketing, seems to be the easy choice for the vampire’s foe. Other characters involved could be Dracula’s wives, who were a notable part of The House of Horror and 2019’s maze. All of these creatures against each other would provide for the perfect maze experience, using the Invisible Man for black hallway and pepper’s ghost illusion scares, with Dracula and his wives as perfect distractions. This could be the perfect end of a trilogy or a great continuing chapter, but Dracula vs. The Invisible Man seems like the most logical choice for a Universal Monsters maze in 2020.
The Attraction Compaction 