It looks like Universal’s cinematic Dark Universe is in serious trouble. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the architects of the monster universe, writer-producers Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan, have left the franchise. Universal also stopped pre-production of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN last month, feeling the script just wasn’t ready.

This news all comes after THE MUMMY’s abysmal performance at the box office—$409 million worldwide on a $149 million-plus budget. Reviews for THE MUMMY weren’t spectacular either, the film eschewing its horror roots for more action-adventure overtones.

While the Monsterverse may be dead, Universal’s monsters themselves could live on in individual movies. Word is Universal is seeing what avenues are available, such as offering the properties to other produces, such as Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, which has found massive success in the horror genre.

“We’ve learned many lessons throughout the creative process on Dark Universe so far, and we are viewing these titles as filmmaker-driven vehicles, each with their own distinct vision,” said Universal president of production Peter Cramer to THR. “We are not rushing to meet a release date and will move forward with these films when we feel they are the best versions of themselves.”

For all the bad news that is surrounding Universal’s Monsterverse, there could be a connected universe at a later date. Franchises are still the rage, and if Universal finds the right scripts at the time is right, we could see another salvo of movies working toward a Dark Universe.