How Universal Monsters Created the First Cinematic Universe

The classic Universal Monsters movies were released in stages, but unlike modern superhero films, there wasn’t an initial plan to create a connected universe. The first two films, Dracula and Frankenstein, both came out in 1931, even though the novels they were based on were originally written 80 years apart and represent the peak of Victorian-era horror. The filmmakers never intended to link the stories of these monsters. However, Universal did team up its two most popular horror stars, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, for The Black Cat and The Raven. Still, their famous characters – Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster – never actually met on screen. It seems the studio believed audiences were more interested in the actors themselves than in a shared storyline.








