Next summer, Universal Pictures will not only compete against the superhero blockbusters from Marvel and DC with Fast 8, the studio will kick off its shared monsters universe starting with Alex Kurtzman’s modern day reboot of The Mummy.
Last night, Universal Pictures released the first official trailer for the film and today they have revealed an inside look at the incredible production of the film featuring some music Game of Thrones fans might recognize. Universal has taken a risk swapping the charming era of the 1930’s for a darker, modern day setting and it looks to have paid off.
Sofia Boutella who plays the titular villain has already made quite a name for herself with her roles in both Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond. Judging from the small bit that we’ve seen of her from The Mummy, her performance looks as if it will cement her as a superstar in Hollywood.
The film has quite a lot of pressure on it. It’s going to be a balancing act as it not only needs to be good but also needs to lay the groundwork for future installments of the developing franchise. Part of that groundwork will be the introduction of Dr. Jekyll played by Russel Crowe.
Dr. Jekyll is at the head of an organization called The Prodigium which is an underground vault that stores the magical creatures and monsters of Earth including the newly found Egyptian queen as well as the recently turned immortal, Nick, played by Tom Cruise.
While speaking with Screenrant, Kurtzman provided some insight to how the film will utilize the character of Dr. Jekyll in a way that serves to introduce viewers to a larger cinematic universe without detracting from the main story of The Mummy:
“If we’re going to bring in Henry Jekyll, how is bringing Henry Jekyll into the mummy story not detract from the mummy story? How does Henry Jekyll become part of this story in an organic way? And part of what Tom’s character, Nick, learns about the mummy and about the history of the mummy comes through Jekyll’s very deep understanding of monsters and how monsters have existed quietly in this world for eons.”
Setting up a cinematic universe can be a bit of a crapshoot. As we saw with such films as The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, films that focus on setting up a larger world can get lost in themselves trying to be too much at once and ultimately end up collapsing. Resulting in an overstuffed bag that doesn’t amount to much in terms of the film’s actual story. Universal has an advantage as it can learn from it’s competition to avoid the mistakes of other franchise starters. We’ll see whether or not they have taken that advantage come June.
The Mummy hits theaters June 9, 2017.
Starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson, Annabelle Wallis, Courtney B. Vance and Russel Crowe. Written by John Spaihts. Directed by Alex Kurtzman.
Believed to be safely entombed in a crypt deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient queen (Sofia Boutella), whose destiny was unjustly taken from her, is awakened in our current day, bringing malevolence with her that has grown over millennia.
SOURCES: UNIVERSAL, SCREENRANT
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