Javier Bardem is in talks to play Frankenstein’s monster.
According to Variety, the ‘Skyfall’ star has begun discussions about taking on the famous character – who first appeared in Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel – in a new Universal film which will be part of the studio’s shared monster movie expanded universe.
Universal made their name with ‘creature features’ in the 1950s and has enlisted Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan to create a series of linked films that will bring their iconic characters back to life on the big screen.
Tom Cruise is to star as Navy Seal Tyler Colt in a ‘Mummy’ reboot alongside Russell Crow who will be portraying Dr. Henry Jekyll, the fictional scientist from Robert Louis Stevenson’s 19th century novella ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ who invents a serum that turns him into a depraved and hideous man known as Mr. Hyde.
Johnny Depp is believed to be playing ‘The Invisible Man’ in a separate project and Angelina Jolie is wanted to direct and star in a ‘Bride Of Frankenstein’ film.
Originally Bardem was approached to star as Dr. Jekyll opposite Cruise in ‘The Mummy’, but passed on it.
Bardem, 47, will soon be seen in ‘The Last Face’, which was directed by Sean Penn, and he also stars in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’, due out in 2017.
The Spanish actor – who is married to Penelope Cruz – is currently filming Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Day 6’.