From the 1920s to the 1950s, Universal Studios had enormous success pumping out movies featuring such now-infamous monters as Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), and The Wolf Man (1941).

In the wake of the successful 1999 reboot of the Mummy franchise, many of these classic movie monsters are set to attack again.

First up is The Wolf Man, coming in November, directed by Joe Johnston (Jumanji, Jurassic Park 3) and starring Benicio del Toro (as the Wolf Man), Anthony Hopkins, and Emily Blunt.

“[It's] a man in make-up and not a CG werewolf running around,” says Rick Baker, who did make-up effects on the film.  “It’s pretty old school, and I think that’s what’s going to make this film cool actually…It’s a classic, gothic horror movie.”

Benicio del Toro in the upcoming The Wolf Man

Also in the works are Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro’s planned remakes of Frankenstein (tentatively slated for 2012) and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (also for 2012).

And a third Mummy sequel, The Mummy 4: Rise of the Aztec, is coming in 2010.

All of these classic monsters have been re-adapted and “reimagined” many times since their original incarnations. But given the unexpected success of 1999’s The Mummy, why didn’t Universal capitalize on their monster catalog, often referred to as ”Universal Horror,” any earlier?

Blame Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 Frankenstein remake, a critical and commercial disappointment. Francis Ford Copolla’s much-mocked 1992 version of Dracula opened huge, but also ended up under-performing.

Meanwhile, Universal’s 2004 film Van Helsing (written, produced, and directed by The Mummy writer/director Stephen Sommers) was the story of a man who fights vampires, werewolves, and a Frankenstein monster. Based on the character from Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel, it was an open homage to Universal’s classic monster films.

But despite hopes that it would be the start of a major franchise,Van Helsing was also a collossal box office disaster.

2004’s Van Helsing

In short, the success of The Mummy seemed like a fluke. But two Mummy sequels later, each of which having grossed more than its predecessor, the success seems like much less of an accident.

In addition, Warner Brothers had extraordinary success with Batman Begins, its acclaimed 2005 reboot of the Batman franchise — despite the fact that the previous film series had just ended in 1997.

And The Incredible Hulk (2008) came a mere five years after 2003’s Hulk, the superhero’s first big budget on-screen incarnation, but still managed to drum up $150 million in U.S. box office.

“The project I have at Universal is trying to approach the mythology from a different point of view,” Del Toro told Scifi.com of his Frankenstein project. “So what you will see will be seeing the Frankenstein myth, but from a side, like an oblique way. If I told you exactly what it is, then it will be completely surpriseless by the time it is announced. But it won’t be the straight Frankenstein, I don’t think.”