It's probably safe to say that Universal's plans for a Dark Universe, bringing together several of the studio's classic monsters on the big screen, haven't exactly gone according to plan - with 2017's The Mummy remake faring poorly both at the box office and with critics.

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However following the success of The Invisible Man earlier this year, the studio now appears to be pushing ahead with films delivering fresher, more modern takes on some of the iconic characters.

And according to David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Spider-Man), one of Hollywood's most successful screenwriters of all time, he's been given the go-ahead for a contemporary version of The Bride of Frankenstein, after plans for a more traditional re-telling of the story were shelved.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com, he said, "I'd written a Bride of Frankenstein script a few years ago that was being prepped and was on the verge of shooting with Bill Condon directing, and it was a sort of grand operatic approach but it died a horrible death when The Mummy crashed.

"And so a short while later I said to Universal, 'you know I have another idea of how to do this, its much smaller, still a decent size movie but not a $150million movie, it doesn't need to be big movie stars.'

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"I think it's much more contemporary, it's set around Silicon Valley which is where I believe life extension work really is taking place, and I said, 'why don't you let me take a crack at that and see if you want to do it?'.

"And they were kind enough to say 'sure, go ahead' – so I wrote this other version and gave it to them very recently and their reaction was terrific and so they're talking to directors about doing that, which would be great. I think it's a much better way to go, a much fresher way to go."

Although he's written the script, though, Koepp has no plans to direct himself - given he's only fairly recently finished a directing job on new horror film You Should Have Left.

"I go through these cycles where I direct something and while doing it I hate the process, I hate much about the process of directing so deeply that I swear I'm never ever ever doing it again," he said. "And then three or four years go by and I forget and I want to direct again.

"Bride of Frankenstein caught me just as I finished You Should Have Left so I was firmly in my 'never want to direct again' phase!"

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You Should Have Left is available on VOD, Blu-ray & DVD from Monday 12th October. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide.

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