Fortnite hosted the first episode of Universal Pictures’ We Will Be Monsters short in its Shortnitemares Festival that took place within the game’s 2021 Halloween event. The episodes were doled out on certain avenues online, but now all four have been dropped on YouTube and Universal Pictures’ Twitter account through a compilation video.
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The four shorts reimagine a whole host of classic Universal monsters in ways different from their usual portrayals. This includes Dracula, Frankenstein’s Bride, Van Helsing, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy. They tell one overarching story that eventually leads them into the world of Fortnite. Chemon Theys’ Frankenstein’s Bride was also sold as a skin in the game alongside more classic renditions of The Mummy and Frankenstein’s Monster, which all recently made a reappearance in the item shop.
Rick Famuyiwa, who directed a number episodes of The Mandalorian, directed this miniseries. Famuyiwa, according to The Hollywood Reporter, was chosen because of his experience working with Epic’s Unreal Engine sets used for the Star Wars show, in addition to “his vision for reimagining the characters.” He worked with VFX and animation studio Plastic Wax for around eight months within the Unreal Engine.
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It’s unclear what he specifically had in mind for his reimaginations, but this series did aim to have a more diverse depiction of these monsters and set them in places around the globe. These roles have typically had white cast members, which is not the case here. Universal Filmed Entertainment Group President Abhijay Prakash elaborated ever so slightly on this approach.
“This is another manifestation of our monsters, and they have never been depicted this diverse,” he said.
