Remember The Mummy from a few years ago with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz?
It was essentially a semi rip-off of Indiana Jones that featured CGI mummies and, for the most part, it worked as something to fill the void left by Harrison Ford's stubbled jaw. However, for several years, Universal has been trying to get its own franchise from their wide library of classic movie monsters going.
There's been more than a few false starts, including Benicio Del Toro's disappointing Wolf Man, and The Rock's Scorpion King didn't become the multi-million blockbuster people had hoped for. Now, it would seem they're doubling down by signing on Tom Cruise to star in the latest reboot of The Mummy.
Set in the modern age, the Cruiser will star alongside Sofia Boutella as the titular character. Boutella previously starred as Samuel L. Jackson's henchman in Kingsman: The Secret Service and will appear later this year in Star Trek Beyond. Meanwhile, Alex Kurtzman - he of Kurtzman / Orci - is slated to direct with a script by Jon 'Prometheus' Spaiths. The ultimate goal is to create a Marvel-style universe, with Wolf Man cropping up in one film and Dracula in another.
So, thoughts? Obviously, everyone's looking at what Marvel and DC Comics are doing and trying to replicate in some manner. Using Universal's pretty massive selection of movie monsters is clever because, like comic book characters, they do have a bit of cultural relevance for people. The same way everyone can identify Iron Man or Superman, they can identify the Mummy or a werewolf. So, in that sense, it definitely works.
We won't know anything, however, until June 9th 2017 when it's released.
