8 new details just revealed for Dark Universe at Epic Universe
Dark Universe at Epic Universe — celebrating Universal Classic Monsters — will feature a vampire colony and references to “The Mole People,” among other new details just revealed.
Artists from Universal Creative revealed new details about Dark Universe — one of the five worlds opening with the new Epic Universe theme park — during an interview on the “Discover Universal” podcast (an official Universal show) on Oct. 29, 2024.
The conversation spotlighted remarks from Universal Creative’s Peter Carsillo (senior creative director) and Frances Franceschi (production designer). (Throughout this story, the info is new, but the images aren’t; with the exception of the newly released photos of animatronics at the end of the story, all images were previously released.)
A show will take place when the windmill lights on fire
Guests will know when the windmill at The Burning Blade Tavern is about to light on fire when the bell in the bell tower starts ringing. A short show will be involved.
“Imagine you’re in [Darkmoor] Village, and the bell starts ringing in the bell tower,” Carsillo described during the podcast interview. “That’s the sign that … monsters [have] been sighted. Everyone makes their way to the windmill. You can hear the crowd building. We have this minute-and-a-half show that goes on with the building up to the explosion.”
When Dark Universe was revealed in June 2024, Universal stated the windmill will light on fire every 20 minutes.
The well in Dark Universe feeds blood to a vampire colony
A well in the center of Darkmoor Village (already visible in aerial construction photography from bioreconstruct) serves a macabre purpose within the lore of Dark Universe.
“The vampires … have a huge vampire colony underneath Darkmoor,” Carsillo said. “There’s even a well so that they can feed blood down to the colony.”
Dark Universe was the creative team’s top pick for Epic Universe
Dark Universe was the first area the creative team decided upon for Epic Universe.
“I was part of the blue sky team in the development of Epic Universe,” said Franceschi, referring to the early brainstorming phase of theme park design. “When we were still trying to figure out ‘What do we want these lands to be?,’ the first one was Dark Universe. I mean, nobody batted an eye. It was like, ‘Yep, we have to have our monsters.’ We finally get our monsters here.”
As for the guests’ beginnings within their own Dark Universe journey, upon stepping through the portal from Celestial Park into Dark Universe, Darkmoor Village “frames the manor” from guests’ point of view, according to Francheschi.
“Beautiful,” she said of the reveal. “Absolutely gorgeous.”
The Mole People were here
Darkmoor will have remnants of the Mole People, the titular creatures from a 1956 Universal Classic Monsters movie.
“You’ll know from the time you walk in to Darkmoor that there are monsters around,” Carsillo said. “In the outskirts of the village, there is a cage where they trapped a monster. It’s all decayed. It’s one of the Mole People. If you ever saw our old Universal movie ‘The Mole People’ … we have Mole People in Darkmoor. Right away, you know that this is a Universal Monster experience, but you also know, it’s a little bit scary.”
Dialogue from the Dark Universe rides revealed
The signature attraction of Dark Universe, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, stars Dr. Victoria Frankenstein. In a new video which also debuted alongside the “Discover Universal” podcast on Oct. 29, dialogue from this new character can be heard. Since Dr. Victoria is an original character created just for Epic Universe, the audio of her voice in the video can’t have come from any existing movie. The line seems to come from either the pre-show of Monsters Unchained or its first scene, speaking directly to riders:
“I am Dr. Victoria Frankenstein. Together, we will finish what my great-grandfather started. Show them!”
In that last sentence, she may have turned to her assistant, Ygor, who will also be part of the Dark Universe narrative.
The Curse of the Werewolf roller coaster in Dark Universe is based upon the original 1941 version of “The Wolf Man” and will feature a new version of Maleva from that film. According to Carsillo, the events of the attraction will transform guests into werewolves themselves. Maleva will bid riders farewell by warning them, “Forever now, you must beware of the moon.”
Dr. Victoria Frankenstein’s motives
In press literature distributed throughout 2024, Universal has described Dr. Victoria Frankenstein, great-granddaughter of Henry Frankenstein, as “vain” and implied this character trait may be her undoing. Franceschi and Carsillo elaborated.
“When she captures [the monsters], she really is trying to learn more about them in hopes that she can change them to be part of our world. They’ll be able to be amongst us,” Franceschi said. “That’s what she wants to prove: that these monsters can still be one of us. As you go through the ride, you’ll see that there’s some she has under— Is it her control? Or are they really okay? You start to see that. Then her big experiment is Dracula. That’s the one that she’s like, ‘I can prove that I can control Dracula.’ No, you can’t!”
“What’s great is Henry’s experiment was all about ego,” Carsillo added. “Victoria’s experiment is all about ego. She just wants to prove that she’s a genius. She got a little bit of success under her belt and then just jumped right to the biggest challenge of all. She knows, like all of us, nothing counts unless people share it, right?”
“She wants to go viral.”
“Yeah. She puts us right face-to-face with the most dangerous character at the worst possible moment.”
Inevitably, in true theme-park-storyline fashion, things don’t go according to plan.
The spinning is symbolic on Curse of the Werewolf
The ride vehicles of Curse of the Werewolf, Dark Universe’s outdoor roller coaster, will spin as they glide along the track. The movement of the coaster isn’t gratuitous, though. The spins, turns, and dips emulate riders’ harrowing journey alongside the werewolves of the forest.
“We were focused on the notion of transformation: turning from one beast to another beast,” Carsillo said. Sound effects will further emphasize the story point. “You hear the werewolves. They’re all running through the underbrush.”
Curse of the Werewolf involves a powered spin at first, then will free-spin the rest of the ride.
Dark Universe will boast advanced animated figures
14 animated figures will populate Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. Universal revealed photos (below) of some of these creatures on Oct. 29. These aren’t conceptual renderings; these are real photographs of animatronic figures. See our previous story for more!
More Attractions Magazine stories:
Follow us:
Ready for adventure? Our trusted partner Universal Fan Travel will handle the planning so you can focus on the fun. They offer free vacation-planning services and have nearly 20 years of experience creating epic vacations. Visit Universal Fan Travel for a fee-free, no-obligation quote today.
