Only a few days after Universal Studios Great Britain was officially announced by Comcast and the UK government, rumors are already swirling about the intellectual properties that’ll be featured in the new theme park’s lands and attractions. This covers the latest rumblings and fan speculation, one conspicuous omission, and our own thoughts.
In case you missed it, the upcoming Universal Studios Great Britain park was revealed this week, with a timeline of when construction will start, an opening year for the park, investments from Comcast, and much more. This also included a high-resolution piece of aerial concept, sufficiently detailed to tip off certain IPs that would be featured but vague enough to cast doubt–or plausible deniability should plans change.
In addition to the Universal Studios Great Britain theme park, initial plans for the resort complex also feature a 500-room hotel and a retail, dining and entertainment complex. It will be the first Universal-branded theme park in the UK and Europe. Currently, a planning proposal has been submitted to the UK government with a projected construction start date in 2026, subject to the relevant planning approvals. Universal Studios Great Britain is projected to open in 2031.
In its announcement, Universal acknowledges the tremendous excitement its theme parks bring. However, the park operator indicates that it’s too early in the process to announce any of the attractions or experiences. More details about Universal Studios Great Britain will be revealed over time, and are subject to the necessary planning consent approvals. Officially, that’s where things stand with the new park–everything that follows is rumor or speculation, or a mixture of the two.
Despite this, as we’ve noted, the early Epic Universe concept art was almost completely accurate to what’s been built, and intrepid fans plus credible rumors almost immediately revealed all of the lands and attractions. Other analysis of recent concept art has been spottier.
Universal Studios Beijing (below) changed a lot from initial announcement to opening, and the Kids Resort in Texas has also evolved during its conception. So again, plans are always subject to change–especially with more government involvement and the licensing of outside IPs.
With all of that out of the way, let’s dig into what’s rumored for Universal Studios Great Britain according to the BBC, which reports that a “source close to the Universal UK project” has informed them of what fans can expect of the new park. Normally, we wouldn’t cover this type of thing coming from the mainstream media, as they often conflate “credible rumors” with “things their reporters read on social media that fans hope will happen.” And maybe that’s happening again here!
With that caveat out of the way, the tone and tenor of the BBC report suggest to us that there is a credible source working on Universal Studios Great Britain. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s even a sanctioned leak, with Universal wanting to generate excitement or, more importantly, support from locals with promise of beloved intellectual properties.
The reason for this approach would be that it’s too early to officially announce because not everything is set in stone, but it behooves Universal to reveal more. An illustrative example of this approach in action is with the “possibilities” presented during the DisneylandForward pitch. Except the big difference there is that the supposed details were direct from the company and completely made up, but many fans and locals didn’t really grasp that. This is purely speculative on my part, and just to be abundantly clear, the BBC report should be taken with a grain of salt, treated as rumor, etc.
Anyway, the BBC source revealed that James Bond, Paddington and Lord of the Rings would be coming to Universal Studios Great Britain. There will be a stunt show based on 007, similar to the The Bourne Stuntacular in Universal Studios Florida, per BBC. However, the accompanying art in the media report features the venue from the top of the art that looks like WaterWorld (see above).
My best guess is that this is a mix-up between the source and the BBC reporters. That the James Bond stunt show is slated for elsewhere in the park and WaterWorld is also planned. It might seem like nonsense to Florida-centric fans to base a show on WaterWorld of all things, but let me tell you, WaterWorld is awesome.
If anything, the big brains at Comcast need to stop remaking their good movies and remake WaterWorld. Solely for the sake of the show, which again, is awesome. There’s a reason it’s been cloned from Universal Studios Hollywood to the newer parks in Japan, Singapore, and Beijing decades after the film flopped. WaterWorld rules. I once had the pleasure of watching WaterWorld from the wet zone at USJ, and it was basically the equivalent of attending a baseball game in Japan. (If you know, you know.) Suffice to say, yes, WaterWorld should absolutely be cloned. The next portal at Epic Universe should start with a “W,” but it should be WaterWorld and not Wicked.
The BBC has been told that other themed zones and rides at the park will be inspired by Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and Minions.
Interestingly, these properties were mentioned rather matter-of-factly in the BBC’s original broadcast reporting on Universal Studios Great Britain as opposed to the follow-up rumor article with a credible source. This is another reason why I suspect the BBC is the beneficiary of a sanctioned leak–that someone in Universal PR briefed the company and provided that info on background.
Regardless, Jurassic World and Minions having large lands with roller coasts to the left and right (respectively) of WaterWorld at the top of the park seem almost like sure things (see above). Both lands have become staples for Universal, and it’s possible the company could clone attractions or entire lands from Universal Studios Beijing. If you look back to the concept art for Beijing earlier in the post, both the Jurassic World and Minions areas look strikingly similar.
With that said, the BBC report also indicates that Universal aims to provide distinct attractions at each of its parks, with the Bedfordshire one set to feature unique attractions not found elsewhere. Paddington could be an example of this, as it’s expected to have a kids area between the in-park hotel and Back to the Future roller coaster set in Hill Valley’s Courthouse Square (see above).
Reading between the lines, my suspicion is that the subtext here is that there won’t be a lot of overlap between Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Great Britain. That the Bedfordshire park will have its own unique attractions, but also clones from the Asia parks.
That’s probably the sensible decision. Central Florida is viewed as the theme park capital of the world, and many Europeans take lengthy and lavish vacations to Orlando to visit Walt Disney World and Universal. Brits aren’t a high percentage of all guests, but they account for an outsized amount of spending. Universal probably doesn’t want to give those whales (non-derogatory) reason to skip their Florida holidays. By contrast, I would hazard a guess that not many Brits are making similar trips to Beijing. So purely as a strategic matter, clones from that new park are more pragmatic.
The BBC source insisted “contracts have been signed” and it would be unlikely things would change.
Rides have already been designed, with the majority planned as indoor attractions. Roller coasters based on Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and Minions are among the few rides that will not be under cover.
Additionally, UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told BBC Breakfast that Universal Studios Great Britain would be an opportunity to show off “great British creations to the world.” She continued by saying that “these are things like James Bond, Paddington Bear…Harry Potter. We’ve got so much to be proud of.”
Notably, a Harry Potter-themed area reportedly will not be part of Universal Studios Great Britain, as it is situated just a 40-minute drive from the Warner Bros Studio Tour in Leavesden, Hertfordshire.
The source told the BBC that “watertight exclusivity contracts” made it difficult to include Hogwarts in the plans, although it could be reconsidered alongside other brands such as Nintendo or Wicked if the park were to expand in the future.
“Warner Bros has the UK rights to Harry Potter attractions. They tried to find a way round it but couldn’t. That could change in years to come, though,” the source told BBC.
I don’t know anything about the Harry Potter rights, but this strikes me as likely. The first thing that stuck out to me when poring over the concept art was that there was nothing resembling Harry Potter. That’s one of, if not the, most logical IPs to highlight in this park, so it not being featured prominently presumably means that it cannot be. Another unique Wizarding World would’ve made this park a bona fide draw for American tourists, too. Alas.
If the BBC source is correct, what’s pictured above is almost certainly Lord of the Rings by process of elimination. If they’re wrong, it could be another DreamWorks or Shrek area.
There have been persistent rumors for a while now that Universal holds the theme park rights to Lord of the Rings. I cannot speak to the veracity of this, except that it strikes me as one of those, if there’s smoke type of things. If Harry Potter can’t be utilized in Universal Studios Great Britain, what better consolation prize is there than Lord of the Rings?
Personally, I hope the BBC rumor is true. I hate Shrek. I’ve been surprised by its staying power, as it feels very early aughts to me. Here’s hoping Ace Ventura: Pet Detective doesn’t make a similar comeback. I would’ve assumed Shrek is the antithesis of British humor and more emblematic of American comedy, but to my surprise, the franchise has performed well at the UK box office. So what do I know.
Coming full circle back to the front of Universal Studios Great Britain, this is obviously the park’s main thoroughfare, with the in-park hotel on the left. There are shops and such on the right, and perhaps an attraction. This could be where the James Bond show is actually going, as opposed to as a replacement for WaterWorld.
Above this is what could be an Amity Island and JAWS area. What this would entail is unclear, but the concept art does support the theory that it’s something based on JAWS. My hope had been that the show building behind the Hollywood Boulevard buildings would be for this, as opposed to a James Bond stunt show.
Ultimately, I hope Comcast has a surprise or two up its sleeve with Universal Studios Great Britain. While I absolutely understand the appeal of Jurassic World and Minions, the two seemingly surest things in the park, they don’t do a ton for me (especially with such similar lands existing elsewhere). Back to the Future is definitely much more intriguing, as is a James Bond stunt show (007 deserves more, although I’m not sure what; maybe an Indiana Jones Adventure type attraction?) and something JAWS.
Lord of the Rings would definitely be Universal Studios Great Britain’s “killer app,” so hopefully that rumor is accurate. It would be unfortunate if this ends up being yet another Shrek thing. And of course, like everyone who is not dead inside, I love Paddington the Bear; so hopefully that rumor is correct. I’m also hopeful that a whole new region of the world will be exposed to the greatness that is WaterWorld; maybe this will finally lead to the remake we need. All in all, I’m cautiously optimistic about Universal Studios Great Britain and hope that these rumors (the good ones) will pan out. We’ll take any excuse we can to spend more time in the United Kingdom and Europe!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you make of the rumored intellectual properties coming to Universal Studios Great Britain? Think it’ll get Lord of the Rings, Paddington, James Bond, Jurassic World, Back to the Future, Minions, and more? Any of these IPs you think are unlikely to come to fruition? What potential lands and/or attractions would you like to see Universal build in the United Kingdom? Think this will be a worthy addition to Universal’s theme parks portfolio? Expect Disney to “respond” with a big announcement of its own? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!
