The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network features weekly shows hosted by Jim Hill and his collaborators. The lineup includes The Disney Dish with Len Testa, Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor, Epic Universal Podcast with Eric Hersey, I Want That Too with Lauren Hersey, Marvel Us Disney with Dan Graney, The Case For with Chris Cox, and more. Each series offers industry reporting, history, analysis, and insider stories spanning Disney, Universal, animation, film, streaming, and themed entertainment. With over 25 years of online storytelling and thousands of hours of content, the network delivers trusted, in-depth coverage for fans, enthusiasts, and industry professionals.
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The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network features weekly shows hosted by Jim Hill and his collaborators. The lineup includes The Disney Dish with Len Testa, Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor, Epic Universal Podcast with Eric Hersey, I Want That Too with Lauren Hersey, Marvel Us Disney with Dan Graney, The Case For with Chris Cox, and more. Each series offers industry reporting, history, analysis, and insider stories spanning Disney, Universal, animation, film, streaming, and themed entertainment. With over 25 years of online storytelling and thousands of hours of content, the network delivers trusted, in-depth coverage for fans, enthusiasts, and industry professionals.
The Van Helsing That Never Was: Inside Universal’s Abandoned Dark Universe (Ep. 77)
The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network
50 minutes
3 weeks ago
The Van Helsing That Never Was: Inside Universal’s Abandoned Dark Universe (Ep. 77)
Jim Hill and Eric Hersey trace the ambitious — and ultimately ill-fated — vision for Universal’s Dark Universe, from the scrapped sequel to The Mummy to Tom Cruise’s push to reinvent himself as the studio’s modern Van Helsing.
NEWS
Universal courts talent and headlines by hiring Mark Platt and director Lorene Scafaria for a Sabrina Carpenter–led Alice in Wonderland musical.
Comcast explores a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs advising.
Competing interest from Netflix and Apple raises the stakes ahead of WBD’s planned corporate split.
Peacock sets a new premiere date for The Epic Ride documentary, now featuring rare dragon-drone testing footage from Epic Universe.
A closer look at how the industry shake-ups could affect theme park rights, licensing, and future Universal IP development.
FEATURE
The original plan for a direct sequel to 2017’s The Mummy — and how the story would have expanded Dr. Jekyll’s organization and the gods-and-monsters mythology.
Why Tom Cruise’s version of Nick Morton was conceived as the entry point to a larger shared universe… and how internal plans positioned him as the modern Van Helsing, monster hunter and connective tissue between films.
How Cruise’s hands-on creative control — the same instinct that later led Top Gun: Maverick to a $1.4B box office — clashed with Universal’s rollout of the Dark Universe brand.
A breakdown of what actually killed the Dark Universe: mismatched expectations, a premature cinematic universe announcement, and a marketing campaign Cruise felt undermined the film he delivered.
Why Epic Universe’s Dark Universe land succeeds where the films didn’t — channeling classic-monster storytelling without the burden of a forced franchise blueprint.
HOSTS
Jim Hill — X/Twitter: @JimHillMedia | Instagram: @JimHillMedia | Website: jimhillmedia.comEric Hersey — X/Twitter: @erichersey | Instagram: @erichersey | Website: erichersey.com
PATREON
Love the show? Support more insider stories, deep dives, and history of themed entertainment at:https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia/
FOLLOW US
Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews
YouTube: @jimhillmedia
TikTok: @jimhillmedia
PRODUCTION
Edited by Dave Grey
Produced by Eric Hersey — Strong Minded Agency
SPONSOR
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The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network
The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network features weekly shows hosted by Jim Hill and his collaborators. The lineup includes The Disney Dish with Len Testa, Fine Tooning with Drew Taylor, Epic Universal Podcast with Eric Hersey, I Want That Too with Lauren Hersey, Marvel Us Disney with Dan Graney, The Case For with Chris Cox, and more. Each series offers industry reporting, history, analysis, and insider stories spanning Disney, Universal, animation, film, streaming, and themed entertainment. With over 25 years of online storytelling and thousands of hours of content, the network delivers trusted, in-depth coverage for fans, enthusiasts, and industry professionals.
