Here be (Universal) monsters
IT’S official: Tom Cruise’s The Mummy is the start of a new cinematic universe.
Universal Studios is rebooting all of its classic movie monsters, starting with Sofia Boutella as the first-ever female Mummy this summer. Cruise plays Nick Morton, who must battle the “ancient princess (that) is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert.”
Spoiler alert: The mummy will probably be back for at least another round, as Universal confirmed upcoming reboots of The Bride Of Frankenstein and The Invisible Man last week. They’ll meet other classic characters, such as the Wolf Man, Dracula and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, in an Avengers-like shared universe that Universal is calling the “Dark Universe”.
Javier Bardem will star in the second movie in the series, The Bride Of Frankenstein, as Frankenstein’s monster in 2019. David Koepp is writing the screenplay and Bill Condon (Beauty And The Beast) will direct.
Depp will play the Invisible Man in another film at a later date.
Russell Crowe, who appears in The Mummy, is playing Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, but it’s unclear if he’ll get a solo adventure. (Slash Film refers to Jekyll as the “Nick Fury” of the rebooted Universal Movie Monsters universe, suggesting he’ll appear in multiple films.)
Casting has not been announced for Dracula or the Wolf Man, and a female lead has not yet been named for The Bride Of Frankenstein.
It’s unclear whether Cruise will appear in other Dark Universe movies, but Universal dropped a big hint that he’s part of their plans to make its horror franchise a hit again. Christopher McQuarrie, who directed Mission: Impossible, Jack Reacher, and the upcoming Mission: Impossible 6, has been named as “involved” in the Dark Universe.
Universal did not elaborate on McQuarrie’s involvement, but Cruise’s history working with him – McQuarrie also wrote Valkyrie and Edge Of Tomorrow – is a good sign. Cruise’s role in The Mummy is closest to the Brendan Fraser character in the 1999 reboot, and Fraser also appeared in two sequels.
The Mummy, also starring Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders), Jake Johnson (Jurassic World) and Courtney B. Vance (The People Vs. O.J. Simpson), kicks off the Dark Universe on June 8. – Tribune News Service