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The Mummy - Full Cast & Crew

1 hr 47 mins
Drama, Horror, Fantasy, Suspense, Action & Adventure
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A cruel princess of ancient Egypt wreaks havoc on humanity after she is accidentally resurrected.

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‘the mummy’: what you need to know before seeing the reboot.

Here are the answers to six questions you might have about this weekend's new Tom Cruise vehicle.

By Graeme McMillan

Graeme McMillan

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There’s a lot riding on the success of Universal’s The Mummy , not least of all the future of the Dark Universe, the studio’s monster-centric Marvel-esque shared cinematic imprint. That said, trailers for the movie don’t give too much away about the movie beyond the fact that it stars Tom Cruise and doesn’t star Dwayne Johnson, who played the Scorpion King himself back in 1999. So what do audiences need to know before heading to the theaters this weekend? Here’s the lowdown.

Mummies Are Just Like Zombies, Except With Bandages, Right?

Before zombies made it big, mummies were the walking dead of choice for cinema. Starting with 1932’s The Mummy , the idea of ancient Egyptian corpses that come back to something close to life as the result of a curse was a mainstay of early genre cinema, with no less than four sequels, two British remakes and a handful of parodies and pastiches in a brief period. Even though zombies have had the spotlight in recent years, mummies did the spooky, murdery shuffle first — and, traditionally, with an extra layer of clothing … well, bandages.

Is Tom Cruise The Mummy This Time?

Nope, he’s Nick Morton, a morally ambiguous tomb raider who gets involved in the same kind of stunts as Cruise’s Mission: Impossible character while also having to fight off an ancient undead evil. The eponymous Mummy is played by Sofia Boutella , while Annabelle Wallis plays archeologist Jenny Halsey.

How Does This Connect to the Brendan Fraser Mummy Movies?

The short version is, it doesn’t; before Cruise took it upon himself to fight off ancient Egyptian threats to modern civilization, movie audiences had become used to Fraser’s The Mummy trilogy, in which Rick O’Connell dealt with resurrected monsters plaguing the world in the early 20th century. Until it’s revealed otherwise, the new movie isn’t related to that trilogy in any way outside of sharing a fondness for shedding the traditional bandaged look for its titular threats. Instead, the new pic is a reboot of the original 1932 storyline and first installment of Universal’s Dark Universe.

What Is the Dark Universe, Anyway?

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe having demonstrated that superhero movies work best when they’re surrounded by other superhero movies, Dark Universe is an attempt to prove the same is true of monster movies. Universal’s Dark Universe will feature such classic characters as the Wolfman , the Invisible Man and the Bride of Frankenstein. It’s actually the second shared universe for monsters in cinema right now, with Legendary’s Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island launching the appropriately named Monsterverse . If the studios ever decide to work together for a crossover, the Dark Monsterverse could prove to be a singularity that sucks in all movie monsters ever.

So Who Is the Nick Fury of This Universe?

The connective tissue between the Dark Universe movies is said to be Russell Crowe, whose Dr. Jekyll (of … and Mr. Hyde fame) is the founder of an organization called The Prodigium , which is dedicated to tracking down monsters around the world and keeping tabs on artifacts that might conjure new ones into existence. Think of it as a cross between Hellboy ‘s Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense and Marvel’s SHIELD, only with a boss who literally could turn into a murderous monster at any minute. There’s no way that’s going to go wrong, of course.

If Dark Universe Is Resurrecting All the Classic Universal Monster Characters, Who Will Play the New Abbott and Costello?

Although Abbott and Costello had their fair share of monster run-ins — there were movies showing them meeting up with Frankenstein’s Monster, the Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and the Mummy — there are no plans for a rebooted Abbott and Costello as yet. That said, there’s already been a Three Stooges reboot , so the idea isn’t necessarily as impossible as it might seem at first.

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The Mummy (2017)

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The Mummy is a 2017 American action-adventure film directed by Alex Kurtzman and written by David Koepp , Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman , with a story by Kurtzman, Jon Spaihts and Jenny Lumet . It is a reboot of The Mummy franchise and the first installment in the Dark Universe film series. The film stars Tom Cruise , Annabelle Wallis , Sofia Boutella , Jake Johnson , Courtney B. Vance and Russell Crowe .

The Mummy premiered at the State Theatre in Sydney , Australia on May 22, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 9, 2017, in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D. It received negative reviews from critics and has grossed $345 million worldwide.

3.1 Filming
5.1 Box office
5.2 Critical response
6 Dark Universe
7 Video Game

In 1127 A.D., a group of English crusader knights capture a large ruby from ancient Egypt and bury it within the tomb of one of their number.

In present-day London , a Crossrail construction crew discover the knights' tomb and a mysterious man is authorized to investigate the uncovered findings inside the site. In a flashback, the hieroglyphics on a circular mural in the tomb, which date back to the New Kingdom era, tell the story of the ruthless Princess Ahmanet .

She was first in line to succeed her father Pharaoh Menehptre only to be stripped of her birthright when his second wife gave birth to a son. Determined to claim the throne for herself, Ahmanet sold her soul to the Egyptian god Set , who gave her a special dagger to transfer his spirit into a corporeal form. After murdering her family, Ahmanet attempted to sacrifice her lover to give Set physical form, but her father's priests slew him and mummified Ahmanet, sentencing her to be buried alive for eternity inside a sarcophagus surrounded by mercury so that her monstrous form will not escape the tomb.

In present-day Iraq , soldier-of-fortune Nick Morton and his partner Chris Vail accidentally discover the tomb of Ahmanet after staging an airstrike on an insurgent stronghold. Jenny Halsey , an archaeologist who had a one-night stand with Nick, arrives and investigates the tomb, correctly concluding that it is a prison. After extracting Ahmanet's sarcophagus from a pool of mercury, Nick's superior, Colonel Greenway , places the sarcophagus on a transport plane, headed to England .

During the flight, Vail becomes possessed by Ahmanet's power after being bitten by a camel spider while inside the tomb. After attempting to open the sarcophagus, he stabs Greenway and attacks the group before Nick is forced to shoot him dead. A huge murder of crows then assaults the plane, causing it to crash and kill everyone on board except for Jenny, who is parachuted off the plane by Nick.

Nick awakens a day later in a morgue in Oxford and learns from Vail's ghost that he has been cursed by Ahmanet, who seeks to use him as a replacement vessel for Set. Ahmanet's mummy escapes from the sarcophagus and begins feeding on rescue workers to regenerate her decomposed body. Turning the workers into zombie minions, she lures Nick and Jenny into a trap, forcing the two to fight off the minions as they unsuccessfully try to escape. Ahmanet also recovers the blade of the Dagger of Set from a reliquary in a nearby church.

At the last second, unknown soldiers appear and subdue Ahmanet. Their leader, Dr. Henry Jekyll , explains that Jenny is an agent of Prodigium , a secret society dedicated to hunting supernatural threats whose base is under the Natural History Museum of London and contains such objects as a webbed hand and a human skull with fangs . He confirms that Nick was cursed when he unlocked Ahmanet's tomb and reveals his intention to complete her ritual and allow Set to possess Nick in order to destroy Set and end his evil forever.

Meanwhile, Ahmanet summons another spider to possess a Prodigium technician and frees herself from captivity, wreaking havoc, death and destruction in the process. Jekyll succumbs to his own dark impulses and transforms into Edward Hyde , his murderous and psychotic alternate personality; when Nick rebuffs Hyde's offer of an alliance between them, Hyde attacks and nearly kills Nick before Nick manages to stop him with the serum Jekyll uses to suppress his evil side. Nick and Jenny then escape from Prodigium while Ahmanet steals back the dagger, summons an army of deceased English crusaders to serve her and creates a massive sandstorm that ravages London. The undead knights slaughter the Prodigium soldiers in the tomb, allowing Ahmanet to recover the ruby and set it in the dagger's pommel, granting her all she needs to free Set.

Guided by Vail, Nick and Jenny flee into the London Underground tunnels under London but are attacked by Ahmanet's minions. Ahmanet captures Jenny and drowns her, hoping to break her hold over Nick. Nick puts up a fight, but gives up and lets himself embrace Ahmanet, using it as a ruse to steal the dagger and stab himself. His body is possessed by Set, who proceeds to join Ahmanet to uphold his end of the bargain until he sees Jenny's dead body, at which point Nick regains control and uses Set's powers to overpower and suck the life out of Ahmanet, turning her back into a shriveled mummy.

Nick harnesses Set's powers to resurrect Jenny, saying goodbye before becoming overwhelmed by Set's power and disappearing. Soon, Jenny regroups with Dr. Jekyll, and they discuss if Nick, now fused with Set, will succumb to Set's influence. Ahmanet's corpse is lowered into a locked pool of mercury within the Prodigium base for safekeeping. Later on in the desert, Nick resurrects Vail and the two set out on an adventure.

Tom Cruise as Nick Morton A U.S. military ex-officer, who unintentionally unearths the tomb of Princess Ahmanet, unleashing an unspeakable evil. Nick becomes haunted, fused with and possessed by Set after Ahmanet puts a curse on him.
Annabelle Wallis as Jenny Halsey A feisty, kind, stubborn and intelligent archeologist who has a past with Nick. She secretly works for the monster-hunting organization known as Prodigium .
Sofia Boutella as Princess Ahmanet . She is loosely based on an amalgamation of the ancient Egyptian goddess, Amunet and Imhotep from the previous Mummy films. Once in line to be the queen of Ancient Egypt, Ahmanet murdered her father and his family in order to resurrect Set, an act for which she was cursed for all eternity and buried alive, until she is accidentally freed as the titular Mummy.
Jake Johnson as Corporal Chris Vail Nick's friend and closest ally.
Courtney B. Vance as Colonel Greenway Nick and Chris's superior officer.
Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll . A brilliant scientist who leads Prodigium, an organization dedicated to locating, containing, and when necessary, destroying monsters. Due to a failed experiment intended to purge his soul of darkness, he must regularly inject himself with a serum to prevent himself from transforming into his evil and monstrous alter-ego, Mr. Edward Hyde .
Marwan Kenzari as Malik Jekyll's chief of security and a member of the Prodigium
Javier Botet as Set . The ancient Egyptian god of deserts, storms, darkness and violence, who aids Princess Ahmanet in her quest to rule Egypt . Set has a connection with Nick Morton, as the latter is intended to be the human vessel for his resurrection.
Selva Rasalingam as King Menehptre , a pharaoh who is Ahmanet's father.

Production [ ]

Universal Pictures first announced plans for a modern-day reboot of The Mummy franchise in 2012. The project went through multiple directors, with Len Wiseman leaving the project in 2013 and a second director, Andrés Muschietti , in 2014.

Tom Cruise began talks about playing the lead in November 2015, with Sofia Boutella beginning talks that December. Kurtzman cast Boutella after seeing and being impressed by her largely mute performance in Kingsman: The Secret Service . Kurtzman noted that "if you look at her eyes, and this is what I got from watching Kingsman , there's a whole performance going on here. And in not saying anything but conveying that much to me, I thought oh my god, no matter how much prosthetics we put on her, no matter how much CG we put on her face, if I see this, she's going to convey something very emotional to me". Other casting news was announced between March and May, with Russell Crowe joining during the latter month. Shortly after the film opened Variety reported that Cruise had excessive control over the film and firm control of nearly every aspect of production and post-production, including re-writing the script and editing to his specifications, telling Kurtzman how to direct on set, and enlarging his role while downplaying Boutella's. Universal contractually guaranteed Cruise control of most aspects of the project, from script approval to post-production decisions.

Filming [ ]

Principal photography on the film began on April 3, 2016, in Oxford , United Kingdom and also took place in Surrey . Filming on the movie wrapped on July 17, 2016, in London. Production then moved to Namibia for two weeks, with principal photography on the film being completed on August 13, 2016.

Release [ ]

Initially scheduled for a 2016 release, the film was released in the United States and Canada on June 9, 2017, with international roll out beginning the same day. The film was screened in various formats, such as 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D.

On December 20, 2016, IMAX released a trailer with the wrong audio track attached; this unintentionally prompted the creation of memes and video montages featuring the mistakenly included audio track, which was missing most of the sound effects and instead featured Tom Cruise's grunts and screams. IMAX reacted by taking down the trailer and issuing DMCA takedown notices in an attempt to stop it from spreading.

Following the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing on May 22, Universal cancelled the film's U.K. premiere, which had been scheduled to take place in London on June 1.

Reception [ ]

Box office [ ].

The Mummy has grossed $80.2 million in the United States and Canada and $329 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $409.2 million, against a production budget of $125 million (with an additional $150 million spent on advertising). The film had a worldwide opening of $172.4 million, the biggest global debut of Tom Cruise's career.

In North America, the film was released alongside It Comes at Night and Megan Leavey and was originally projected to gross $35–40 million from 4,034 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after making $12 million on its first day (including $2.66 million from Thursday night previews), weekend projections were lowered to $30 million. It ended up debuting to $31.7 million, marking the lowest of the Mummy franchise and finishing second at the box office behind Wonder Woman ($58.2 million in its second week). Deadline.com attributed the film's underperformance to poor critic and audience reactions, as well as "blockbuster fatigue". In its second weekend the film made $14.5 million (dropping 54.2%), finishing 4th at the box office. The same week, Deadline reported that the film is expected to lose Universal around $95 million. It was pulled from 827 theaters in its third week and made $5.8 million, dropping another 60% and finishing 6th at the box office.

Outside North America, the film opened in 63 overseas territories, with China, the UK, Mexico, Germany, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Russia receiving the film the same day as in North America and was projected to debut to $125–135 million. [49] It opened on June 6, 2017, in South Korea and grossed $6.6 million on its first day, the biggest-ever debut for both Tom Cruise and Universal in the country. It ended up having a foreign debut of $140.7 million, the biggest of Cruise's career. In its opening weekend the film made $52.4 million in China, $7.4 million in Russia, $4.9 million in Mexico and $4.2 million in the United Kingdom.

Critical response [ ]

The Mummy received negative reviews, with criticism aimed at its incoherent narrative and shoehorned plot points setting up the Dark Universe. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of 15% based on 225 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Lacking the campy fun of the franchise's most recent entries and failing to deliver many monster-movie thrills, The Mummy suggests a speedy unraveling for the Dark Universe". On Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 34 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". On CinemaScore , audiences gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Vince Mancini of Uproxx gave the film a negative review, writing: "If you like incomprehensible collections of things that vaguely resemble other things you might've enjoyed in the past, The Mummy is the movie for you". IndieWire 's David Ehrlich gave the film a D-, calling it the worst film of Cruise's career and criticizing its lack of originality, saying: "It's one thing to excavate the iconography of old Hollywood, it's another to exploit it. This isn't filmmaking, it's tomb-raiding".

Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote: "The problem at its heart is that the reality of what the movie is—a Tom Cruise vehicle—is at war with the material. The actor, at 54, is still playing that old Cruise trope, the selfish cocky semi-scoundrel who has to grow up. ... The trouble is that Cruise, at least in a high-powered potboiler like this one, is so devoted to maintaining his image as a clear and wholesome hero that his flirtation with the dark side is almost entirely theoretical". Writing for Rolling Stone , Peter Travers gave the film one star out of four, saying: "How meh is The Mummy ? Let me count the ways. For all the huffing and puffing and digital desperation from overworked computers, this reboot lands onscreen with a resounding thud".

Glen Kenny of RogerEbert.com gave the film 1.5/4 stars, writing: I found something almost admirable about the film's cheek. It's amazingly relentless in its naked borrowing from other, better horror and sci-fi movies that I was able to keep occupied making a checklist of the movies referenced. Entertainment Weekly 's Chis Nashawaty wrote that the film "feels derivative and unnecessary and like it was written by committee".

In BBC World News Culture, Nicholas Barber calls the film "a mish-mash of wildly varying tones and plot strands, from its convoluted beginning to its shameless non-end. Tom Cruise's new film barely qualifies as a film at all. None of it makes sense. The film delivers all the chases, explosions, zombies and ghosts you could ask for, and there are a few amusing lines and creepy moments, but, between the headache-inducing flashbacks and hallucinations, the narrative would be easier to follow if it were written in hieroglyphics".

In June 2017, a BBC World News article summarized the largely negative analysis of leading film critics and Peter Bradshaw of T The Guardian wrote that the film "has some nice moments but is basically a mess. The plot sags like an aeon-old decaying limb, a jumble of ideas and scenes from what look like different screenplay drafts". Empire film magazine was more positive, with Dan Jolin awarding the film three stars. "It's running and jumping grin-flashing business as usual for Cruise, once more on safe character territory as an Ethan Hunt-esque action protagonist who couples up with a much younger woman, while another woman chases after him," he wrote. "And if the next installment-teasing conclusion is anything to go by, Cruise seemed to have enough fun making this that he may just return for more".

Dark Universe [ ]

Main article: Universal Monsters & Dark Universe

On May 22, 2017, Universal Pictures announced that its series of films reviving the studio's long-running Universal Monsters film series would be known as Dark Universe, and that Bill Condon will direct the second installment, Bride of Frankenstein , to be released on February 14, 2019. In November 2016, Kurtzman stated that the studio has ideas for various rebooted versions of "their monsters", and that he helped the studios' production team with creating updated designs for each of the characters. Each of these individual monsters were stated to be the focus of stand-alone installments first, before any crossovers would occur, with Kurtzman stating: "There might be reasons for this character and that character to come together, because the story tells us that's what the story wants. The story is what drives the choice. And if down the line, there's a big reason to bring them together, then great. But I promise, we're not starting there". In March 2017, producer Chris Morgan revealed that the studio is in the process of deciding the chronological order of each of the films, and when they will be released. The 2014 film Dracula Untold , starring Luke Evans as the titular character, was originally considered to be the first film in the Dark Universe; however, since the film's release the connection to Dark Universe was downplayed and the Mummy was re-positioned as the first film in the series.

Video Game [ ]

A video game adaptation titled The Mummy: Demastered was developed by WayForward Technologies and released in October 2017. It is a pixel art side scrolling "Metroid-vania" style game", Reception for the game was considerably more positive than the movie.

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3 Evelyn O'Connell

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The Mummy — Cast & Crew

Alex kurtzman.

Russell Crowe

Annabelle Wallis

Sofia Boutella

Jake Johnson

Courtney B. Vance

Marwan Kenzari

Simon Atherton

Stephen thompson.

James Arama

Matthew Wilkas

Sohm Kapila

Sean Cameron Michael

Rez Kempton

Erol Ismail

Selva Rasalingam

Shanina Shaik

Javier Botet

Hadrian Howard

Dylan Smith

Parker Sawyers

Neil Maskell

Rhona Croker

Andrew Brooke

Timothy Allsop

Grace chilton.

Hannah Zoé Ankrah

Dylan Kussman

Peter Lofsgard

Bella Ava Georgiou

Alice Hewkin

Adrian Christopher

Martin Bishop

Daniel Tuite

Noof Ousellam

David Burnett

Maryam Grace

Asheq Akhtar

Mouna Albakry

Lee Asquith-Coe

Helen Baker

Chasty ballesteros.

Kelly Burke

Ross Carter

Christian Davidson

Nick Donald

Jade Clarke

Errol francis.

George Georgiou

Shane Griffin

Michael Haydon

Lewis Holloway

Joost Janssen

Abdul Hakim Joy

Adam Treasure

Jackson Kai

Sophie karl.

Ayman Khechini

Danielle Kingston

Tyrone Love

Jason Matthewson

Shina Shihoko Nagai

Kaushal Odedra

Shane Rawlings

Alaa Oumouzoune

Emma Louise Saunders

Rashid Shadat

Tina simmons.

Bryan Solarte

James tufnell, stephen uppal.

Stuart Whelan

Edmund Wiseman

Obie matthew, felicita ramundo, david koepp.

Christopher McQuarrie

Jenny Lumet

Jon Spaihts

Sean Daniel

Genevieve Hofmeyr

Chris Morgan

Sarah Bradshaw

Roberto orci.

Ben Seresin

Brian Tyler

Adrian Bell

Christian Joyce

Paul massey.

Andrew Sissons

Evan j haley.

Marius Heuser

Andrew ackland-snow.

Steve Carter

Will Coubrough

John frankish, james lewis, steve street, frank walsh.

Justin Warburton-Brown

Tom whitehead, bobby cardoso, catherine palmer, dominic watkins, daniel birt.

Liz Griffiths

Gina Hirsch

Paul hirsch.

Andrew Mondshein

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By now you’ve probably read a number of scathing reviews of “The Mummy,” Universal’s inaugural entry in a possibly grievously ill-advised “Dark Universe” franchise, wherein the legendary studio intends to reboot its most Famous Monsters of Filmland. Perhaps I’m becoming jaded in my old age, but I was more amused than appalled.

Don’t get me wrong. “The Mummy,” directed (if that’s what you want to call it; I honestly think the better term here is “ostensibly overseen on behalf of the studio executives”) by Alex Kurtzman from a script by David Koepp , Christopher McQuarrie , and Dylan Kussman , has plenty to get irritated about. I got sand in my synapses during an early scene in which Tom Cruise , as a looter named Nick Morton (oh, “Mort,” I get it now), and his sidekick, played by Jake Johnson , casually slaughter a bunch of “Iraqi insurgents” trying to track down a mysterious treasure. Oh, sure, filmmakers, by all means use a tragic and unnecessary war that’s still yielding horrific consequences for the world as the backdrop for your stupid horror movie plot machinations, no problem here.

And, of course, there’s the movie’s very old-school sexism. "The Mummy" has two female characters: One is corrupt albeit not unattractive ancient Egyptian royal Ahmanet, who, once freed from her tomb in the present day, is the incarnation of all evil and stuff. (She is played by Sofia Boutella , whose filmography testifies that she’s accustomed to being ill-used in motion pictures). The other is faux-archeologist/genuine anti-evil secret agent Jenny ( Annabelle Wallis ) who’s mainly around to be rescued by Nick, and whose surface venality suggests that his business card describes him as a “lovable rogue.”

So yes, should one choose to take offense, one certainly may. But I have to be honest—speaking of venality, I found something almost admirable about the film’s cheek. It’s amazingly relentless in its naked borrowing from other, better horror and sci-fi movies that I was able to keep occupied making a checklist of the movies referenced. At its opening, remnants of a past civilization are discovered while workmen are tunneling underground for a new subway route. That’s from “Quatermass and the Pit,” aka “Five Million Miles to Earth.” As many other reviewers have noted, once Jake Johnson’s character buys in and is reborn as a wisecracking undead sidekick warning Nick about how he’s been cursed by incarnation-of-evil Ahmanet, it’s “American Werewolf in London” time, albeit with PG-13-rated special effects rather than the side of ketchup-dipped corned beef that fell from Griffin Dunne ’s face in the earlier movie. What else? A woman whose kiss drains the life force out of those who receive it, from the wacky space-vampire movie “Lifeforce”? Check. A brain-draining insect in the ear from “Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan”? Check. Spavined slapstick undead assaulters out of “ Evil Dead ”? Check. Underwater fights with the undead out of Lucio Fulci ’s “Zombie”? Check. (These too are toned down considerably from the source material.) Someone saying “Plans?” with the precise intonation Sir Ralph Richardson used in “ Tales from the Crypt ”? Also check. Don’t even get me started on the, um, appropriation of a famous line from the Universal monster movie “ Bride of Frankenstein .” But that’s life, and that movie literally IS Universal’s property.

There have been a lot of crocodile tears already shed about the fact that The Mighty Tom Cruise has allowed himself to be used in such dreck, and also that Russell Crowe has been compelled to continue to sink into a form of self-parody by appearing as the head of Jenny’s anti-evil agency, a character named Dr. Henry Jekyll, and yeah, it’s the same guy. Or some iteration of the same guy. As it happens, Dr. Jekyll was never one of the Universal Studios monsters, but the character IS in the public domain, so I guess the corporate overlords of the Dark Universe figured “what the you-know-what.”

Anyway, I cannot feel too aggrieved for either star. As Richard Harris and Richard Burton found out for themselves many years before Crowe came along, there comes a time in the career of every loose-cannon macho actor where the any-port-in-a-financial-year-storm approach to career management is all for the best. As for Cruise, he is known for his try-anything-once sense of cinematic adventure, and he does like his franchises. The Morton character is admittedly more of a callow nothingburger than any he’s played. And given how the movie ends I’m a little disappointed that he wasn’t named Larry Talbot. But who knows, maybe he’ll be obliged to change it for the next installment. Which I am looking forward to, out of nothing but base curiosity.

Glenn Kenny

Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film credits.

The Mummy (2017)

Rated PG-13 for violence, action and scary images, and for some suggestive content and partial nudity.

110 minutes

Tom Cruise as Nick Morton

Sofia Boutella as Princess Ahmanet / The Mummy

Annabelle Wallis as Jenny Halsey

Jake Johnson as Sgt. Vail

Courtney B. Vance as Colonel Gideon Forster

Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll

Alex Kurtzman

Writer (screen story by)

Jon Spaihts
Jenny Lumet
David Koepp
Christopher McQuarrie
Dylan Kussman

Cinematographer

Ben Seresin
Paul Hirsch
Gina Hirsch
Andrew Mondshein

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Film Review: Tom Cruise in ‘The Mummy’

Tom Cruise fights an Egyptian demon, which takes up residence inside him, in a monster reboot that's too busy to be much fun.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

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No one over the age of 10 ever confused them with good movies, but the “Mummy” franchise that kicked off in 1999 had a joyously sinister and farfetched eye-candy pizzazz. Basically, these were movies that pelted you with CGI — scuttling scarabs, swarms of skeletons in moldy rags — and mixed the cheesy/awesome visual onslaught with a handful of actors (Brendan Fraser, Dwayne Johnson) who seemed just as lightweight at the FX. So “ The Mummy ,” starring Tom Cruise , raises a key aesthetic question: How, exactly, do you reboot empty-calorie creature-feature superficiality?

The new “Mummy,” you may be surprised to hear, doesn’t have a whole lot of show-stopping visual flimflam up its sleeve. Instead, it’s built around a chancy big trick. I’ll herald this with a major spoiler alert (if you don’t want to know what happens in “The Mummy,” please stop reading), though it’s really the essential premise of the movie. Cruise, who is cast as Nick Morton, a freelance raider of artifacts he sells on the black market, isn’t just fighting evil — his character gets inhabited by evil. He is taken over by the spirit of Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), an ancient Egyptian princess who murdered her father, the Pharaoh, and his infant son, all so that she could lay claim to the throne. For her crime, she was mummified and buried alive. (Yes, she’s pissed off.)

The way her spirit merges with Nick’s remains a little vague, since it’s not as if Cruise turns into a frothing bad guy. He deals with the fact that he’s got evil inside him by treating it in a highly practical and energized fashion — as a problem to be solved. He’s Tom Cruise, dammit, and he’s not just going to stand by! He’s going to attack the issue. He’s going to fight it, debate it, stare it down, put it in its place, kick its ass, out-think it and out-run it, out-punch it and out-underwater-swim it.

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All of which turns out to be a lot less fun than the stupid zappy “Mummy” movies of the ’00s. It’s not as if this one is all that smart, what with a plot that somehow squashes together the First Dynasty of Egypt, the Crusades, and the looting of Iraqi antiquities. Yet it does seem to be trying for something, and so, if you’re a Cruise fan (as I very much am), you roll with it. The flashes of Egyptian backstory are photographed (by Ben Seresin) with a yummy desert glow, and the Algerian actress Sofia Boutella, in black bangs and vertical rows of tattooed facial hieroglyphs, makes Ahmanet exotic in all the right ways, like something out of a Rihanna video. Then she shows up in contemporary London, along with Nick and Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), the comely archeologist who Nick slept with and whose life he saved. Ahmanet is now a mottled, gray-skinned mummy who gains energy by putting civilians in a lip-lock and literally sucking the life out of them, which reduces them to skeletal zombies who exist to do her bidding.

It’s here that you begin to divine the film’s basic strategy: It will grab ideas, motifs, and effects from almost any genre and jam them together, palming off its grab-bag quality as “originality.” Scene for scene, “The Mummy” has been competently staged by director Alex Kurtzman, who has one previous feature to his credit (the minor 2012 Chris Pine heart-tugger “People Like Us”) and has never made a special-effects film before. He knows how to visualize a spectacular plane crash, or how to play up the Dagger of Set — a mystical weapon of death that needs a giant ruby to complete it — so that it doesn’t seem as chintzy as something out of a “National Treasure” movie (which is basically what it is). Yet competence isn’t the same thing as style or vision. “The Mummy” is a literal-minded, bumptious monster mash of a movie. It keeps throwing things at you, and the more you learn about the ersatz intricacy of its “universe,” the less compelling it becomes.

Russell Crowe , cultivating an air of pompous malevolence, shows up in the opening scene, but it isn’t until later that we learn he’s playing Dr. Henry Jekyll — yes, that Henry Jekyll. Jekyll, it turns out, has to keep injecting his damaged hand with a regimen of drugs to avoid turning into Mr. Hyde, but watching all this the audience may be thinking: Whose bright idea was it to mix “The Mummy” with an entirely different formative horror story, as if the two could be cross-bred like some Famous Monsters of Filmland version of the Justice League?

The answer wouldn’t matter if “The Mummy” had the courage of its convictions…or the fun of its nonsense. But it falls right into a nether zone in between. The problem at its heart is that the reality of what the movie is — a Tom Cruise vehicle — is at war with the material. The actor, at 54, is still playing that old Cruise trope, the selfish cocky semi-scoundrel who has to grow up. Will Nick give in to Ahmanet, the malevolent temptress in her Bettie Page Egyptian hair? Or will he stay true to Jenny, the brainy angel of light? The trouble is that Cruise, at least in a high-powered potboiler like this one, is so devoted to maintaining his image as a clear and wholesome hero that his flirtation with the dark side is almost entirely theoretical. As Universal’s new “Dark Universe” (of which “The Mummy” is the first installment) unfolds, I wouldn’t hold my breath over which side is going to win, or how many more films it will take to play that out. It’s not just that there isn’t enough at stake (though there isn’t). It’s that the movie doesn’t seem to know how little at stake there is.

Reviewed at Regal E-Walk, New York, June 6, 2017. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 107 MIN.

Production: A Universal Pictures release of a Dark Universe, Perfect World Pictures in association with Secret Hideout, Conspiracy Factory, Sean Daniel Company production. Producers: Alex Kurtzman, Chris Morgan, Sean Daniel, Sarah Bradshaw. Executive producers: Jeb Brody, Robert Orci.
Crew: Director: Alex Kurtzman. Screenplay: David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, Dylan Kussman. Camera (color, widescreen): Ben Seresin. Editors: Gina Hirsch, Paul Hirsch, Andrew Mondshein.
With: Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari, Simon Atherton, Stephen Thompson.

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DVD & Streaming
Action/Adventure , Drama , Horror , Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Content Caution

In Theaters

June 9, 2017
Tom Cruise as Nick Morton; Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll; Annabelle Wallis as Jenny Halsey; Sofia Boutella as Ahmanet; Jake Johnson as Chris Vail

Home Release Date

September 12, 2017
Alex Kurtzman

Distributor

Universal Pictures

Movie Review

The Mummy opens in ancient Egypt as a powerful Pharaoh learns that his mistress and high priest have been fooling around behind his back. He confronts the pair, who respond by stabbing him to death. Before the guards can apprehend her, the mistress takes her own life, confident that her sorcerer/lover will resurrect her. But before the dark priest known as Imhotep can complete the task, he is seized by authorities who cut out his tongue, mummify him alive and bury him in a sarcophagus full of voracious scarabs.

Flashforward 3000 years to the 1920s. Despite the best efforts of warriors committed to keeping the hidden ruins of Hamunaptra a secret (and the mummy in his tomb), treasure seekers find the lost city of the dead, read from a book of the dead and, well, wake the dead. Needless to say, Imhotep—without his morning coffee—rises in a really bad mood and goes on a vengeful rampage against the people who interrupted his multi-millennial snooze. Led by Indiana Jones-wannabe Rick O’Connell, the group must defeat the slowly regenerating corpse before Imhotep kills them all and resurrects his forbidden love. It’s a slam-bang special effects-fest that relies less on plot than on action that piles up a considerable body count.

Positive Elements: Moments of heroism and self-sacrifice. One character’s chronic disloyalty is held in low esteem. Modest flirtation between Rick and Evelyn avoids sexual overtones or innuendoes.

Spiritual Content: When cornered by the mummy, a conniving, weaselly man rattles through a necklace full of religious icons (including a cross and the star of David), reciting a prayer to each in hopes of escaping violent death. Imhotep is able to recreate plagues that God used to punish Egypt (locusts, flies, water to blood, darkness). In a climactic ceremony, Imhotep uses incantations and other occult means—including a human sacrifice—in an attempt to restore life to his mummified lover. He summons the undead to do battle with Rick (a scene reminiscent of the sword-wielding skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts ) and is only thwarted when someone chants from another magical book.

Sexual Content: No sex, but the Pharaoh’s mistress appears in a see-through mesh top and thong bottom (basically, naked). Someone uses a crude expression for genitalia.

Violent Content: Pretty much non-stop. At times The Mummy plays like a blast-anything-that-moves video game. Numerous men die in gunfights or at the points of swords during flurries of mass brutality and war. Some are stabbed with knives. Others catch fire. Rick survives being hung from gallows, though his fall through the platform is disturbingly explicit. Hungry beetles burrow underneath people’s skin and eat them from the inside out, or swarm over bodies like a school of piranha, leaving a mess of bone and sinew. Slaves are melted by acid. Once Imhotep shakes the dust off and reenters the world, he starts sucking the life out of people in order to consume their organs and regenerate himself (one poor soul survives having his eyes gouged out and his tongue removed before Imhotep finishes him off). After a man dies in a plane crash, his body and the aircraft both sink into quicksand. Rick severs Imhotep’s arm, but the monster reaches down and reattaches the limb. The movie’s sizable body count—and high gross-out quotient—almost make it easy to overlook “unspectacular” violence including several fistfights and a scene in which the film’s heroes drive recklessly through a crowded marketplace and mow down slow-moving locals.

Crude or Profane Language: Evelyn asks Rick for a vow of honesty by prompting, “Do you swear?” He replies, “Every d— day.” Still, the language is surprisingly restrained for a PG-13 release. There’s quite a bit of mild profanity, but no s- or f-words. Christian viewers will take exception to several exclamatory uses of the Lord’s name.

Drug and Alcohol Content: Occasional alcohol use is aggravated by three scenes that play drunkenness for laughs.

Other Negative Elements: Accused of being deceptive, Jonathan tells his sister, Evelyn, “I lie to everybody. What makes you so special?” Lots of emaciated corpses litter the screen. Some moments exist solely to disgust squeamish viewers, such as the scene in which a partially decayed Imhotep kisses Evelyn on the mouth, or when he eliminates the annoying scarab traveling through his neck and toward his brain by crunching down on it with his rotting teeth. Yuck.

Summary: The Mummy staggers for a number of reasons. First, it dares audiences to think of the various time-honored serials and matinee favorites it’s ripping off. For example, a scene on a burning boat seemed to be an imitation of the engulfed tavern sequence in Raiders of the Lost Ark (right down to the last-minute rescue of a vital map-producing artifact from the flames). Second, The Mummy is an uneven attempt at being an action-adventure/horror/comedy/romance all wrapped up in one. It loses its bearings about halfway through when its sense of humor takes over like a class clown who just doesn’t know when to quit. It descends into silliness. Sure, there are a few funny moments and some really wild special effects (fully exploited in Universal’s thrilling theatrical trailer), but that’s about it. Once Christian families factor in lots of violence and dark, occult overtones, it becomes obvious that this film is pointless entertainment that’s especially inappropriate for the 8- to 14-year-old boys most likely to be attracted to such incoherent eye-candy.

Positive Elements

Nick Morton is Ahmanet’s official rope-looser. The mummy appreciates the gesture so much that she selects Nick as her next “beloved”—that is, the guy she’s going to kill to introduce Set to the world. And because of Ahmanet’s ability to weasel into his mind, Nick sometimes seems just fine with that. He’s described as a perfect vessel for Set, given his lack of morals and his dearth of consideration for anyone but himself.

But Jenny, the archaeologist, believes that underneath his rough exterior, Nick’s an OK guy. “I knew there was more to you than money,” she says.

No, no, sorry. That’s Princess Leia in Star Wars . (Wrong notes.) No, Jenny says, “Somewhere, fighting to get out, is a good man.” And turns out, she’s right: Nick turns from a selfish treasure-hunter into a self-sacrificing do-gooder. And he eventually shows a willingness to sacrifice pretty much everything—body, soul and spirit—for Jenny when the Egyptian chips are down.

There are a few others who’d like to prevent the end of the world, too, if possible. Dr. Henry Jekyll is especially keen to do so, even though he knows it means making some uncomfortable sacrifices himself.

Spiritual Elements

Take a load off and set a spell, while I talk about Set and spells.

Set, as mentioned, is the Egyptian god of death. (Or god of the desert, war, storms, chaos, wind, war, darkness, disorder, violence, etc., etc., depending on which source you look at.) Jekyll calls him out as evil and says that Christians call the very same guy Satan and Lucifer. But rather than follow the Christian idea that Satan and evil are already actively influencing our world, Jekyll characterizes evil as lurking just outside it, looking for a way to come in.

Set has found a way into this realm through Ahmanet, who prays to the god and performs rites in his honor, and is thus rewarded with supernatural power. Her body is magically riddled with black, unreadable glyphs, and she’s apparently granted immortality as well (though the years do take a toll on her eventually). Some animals (birds, rats, spiders) seem to do her bidding, and she has the ability to control certain minds (sometimes through spider bites). She’s also able to call on the sand itself—including, apparently, sand grains of it that have been melted into glass. But perhaps her most fearsome ability is her knack for raising folks from the dead, who subsequently serve her as her shambling, zombie-like minions.

We also learn that hundreds of years earlier, some Christian Crusaders found Ahmanet’s crypt and spirited away her magic dagger (given to her by Set), hiding the blade in the statue of an angel (called a reliquary by Jenny) and a magic gem from its pommel in a Crusader grave. We assume that the Crusaders did this because they understood Ahmenet’s nature and wanted to keep a critical source of her power away from her.

Elsewhere, presumably Islamic fighters shoot up and deface ancient artifacts, mimicking the destruction we’ve seen from ISIS fighters. We hear that pharaohs were worshiped as “living gods.” Some scenes take place in old Christian churches and tombs. There’s talk about “angering the gods.”

[ Spoiler Warning ] Nick eventually gets stabbed by Ahmanet’s magical dagger, which infects him with the spirit of Set. His human side seems to keep the Set side of him at bay while still allowing Nick to use Set’s powers, including resurrecting a couple of people close to him.

Sexual Content

Back in ancient Egypt, Ahmanet prays to Set naked: We see her nude form from the back and side in a handful of flashbacks. Even when she wears clothes back then, the robes are fairly gauzy and revealing. A lot of her skin (and sometimes bone and muscle) is visible after she’s mummified, too: When she looks like her younger self, the bandages are wrapped tightly around her in strategic areas, accentuating her figure rather than hiding it. She sometimes straddles her lovers/victims, running her hands down their chests suggestively. She both kisses and licks men.

Nick wakes up in a morgue, naked. (We see him from the side, but his genitals are obscured either by his hands or strategically placed tables.) Nick and Jenny also have a history. They banter suggestively about a the details of a one-night-stand they had in Bagdad. When Jenny accidentally reveals her midriff, Nick ogles her.

Violent Content

Ahmanet wasn’t a gentle woman even when she was just a mortal woman. We see her skirmish with others in the Egyptian desert, knocking men down painfully with poles. She holds a knife to the Pharaoh’s throat (though we don’t see her make the cut that comes next). A baby dies by her hand, too: Again, we don’t see the deed itself, but dark blood sprays tellingly across her contorted face. She’s just about to plunge a dagger into her lover when she’s caught; several darts puncture her neck, and hooks connected to cords pierce her body (though not in a particularly bloody fashion).

Once freed from her coffin, Ahmanet rejuvenates by pressing her lips to the mouths of innocents and literally sucking the life out of them. Her victims morph into mummy-like husks, which then rise and follow her. These creatures—as well as other dead bodies that Ahmanet raises—battle Nick and others. They fling themselves through car windows and swim after folks in water. They’re stubborn opponents, and even dismembering them doesn’t stop their attack. Nick sometimes thwacks off arms or heads or most of their bodies, and they still come. Nick sometimes kicks through their bodies or crushes their heads into billowing dust.

Ahmanet still rumbles, too. Blessed (cursed?) with superhuman strength, she can literally throw people around and smash massive tree limbs into splinters. At one point, she practically breaks Nick’s leg, too. (Nick, perhaps through supernatural means, seems physically fine afterwards.)

A plane crashes. Several people are either sucked out or die in the crash, and we see their bodies in a morgue later. Someone’s stabbed to death. Another man gets shot three times. Still another character, perhaps in an hallucigenic state, is attacked by writhing hordes of rats that cover his body. Someone drowns. Nick has an extended melee with another character.

Dr. Jekyll imprisons Ahmanet for a time: She’s again darted with hooks attached to cords and chained in a large room, where workers apparently inject her body with freezing mercury. “It hurts!” she complains loudly.

Soldiers shoot Ahmanet without effect. Nick and his friend Chris get pinned down during a gunfight. A sandstorm sends cars and busses flying and people scurrying for safety. Explosions go boom. Birds crash through plane windows; one leaves a bloody mark.

Crude or Profane Language

One s-word and a few other profanities, including “a–,” “b–ch,” “b–tard,” “d–n,” “h—,” “p-ss” and the British profanity “bloody.” God’s name is misused seven times.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Jenny and Nick spend time in a pub. Nick downs shots and chases them with beer. Other folks are shown drinking beer and other alcoholic beverages.

Other Negative Elements

Nick and Chris are not archaeologists, but treasure hunters who raid ancient tombs and sell what they find there on the black market. Nick learns about Ahmanet’s tomb, actually, only after stealing a letter from Jenny.

Ahmanet vomits mercury.

On one level, you could say that The Mummy is about Nick—a wayward, moral-free treasure hunter who finds, in the end, a certain level of compassion, humanity, love and redemption. He’s asked to make sacrifices. And in time, he develops a willingness to answer that call.

And that’s all great … as far as it goes.

On another level, though—and this is really the level that counts— The Mummy is a mindless exercise in CGI wonder and PG-13 horror. It delivers action sequences strung together with just the barest thread of a plot or even reason. While it presents itself as a standard summer blockbuster (and, indeed, Universal has planned The Mummy as the first of a new franchise of classic monster reboots), it’s both surprisingly sexual and surprisingly frightening. The movie’s muddy spirituality should give many families pause, as well.

Mostly, though, this movie just felt confused . Its internal logic is inconsistent. Scenes show up for really no real reason at all—feeling about as stuffed in there as a walrus in spandex.

There’s no compelling reason why The Mummy should exist at all, really, other than to line Universal’s pockets. Sure, the same could be said for lots of would-be blockbusters, but most still want to tell a reasonably good, or at least sensible, story. You’ll find precious little sense in this flick. Perhaps it should’ve been kept under wraps.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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"Please meet Princess Ahmanet. She will claim what she has been denied." — Dr. Henry Jekyll

The Mummy is a 2017 fantasy Action Horror film released by Universal as the first, and ultimately only , installment of the Dark Universe , a Shared Universe based on its classic Universal Horror films. note Dracula Untold was originally re-shot to serve as a prequel, but has since been scrapped from continuity. The movie has Tom Cruise in the lead role, Sofia Boutella as the title mummy , Princess Ahmanet, as well as Annabelle Wallis , Jake Johnson , Courtney B. Vance , Javier Botet, Chasty Ballesteros, Marwan Kenzari , Dylan Smith, Selva Rasalingam and Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll .

This reboot was directed by Alex Kurtzman, known for co-writing the first two Transformers and the first two rebooted Star Trek movies, and was written by David Koepp ( Jurassic Park ) Christopher McQuarrie ( Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation ), and Dylan Kussman, from a story by Jon Spaihts ( Prometheus ), Jenny Lumet ( Rachel Getting Married ) and Kurtzman.

It has a tie-in game made by WayForward Technologies known as The Mummy Demastered .

Sergeant Nick Morton ( Tom Cruise )
Colonel Gideon Foster ( Courtney B. Vance )
Dr. Henry Jekyll ( Russell Crowe )
Corporal Chris Vail (Jake Johnson)
Jenny Halsey ( Annabelle Wallis )
Princess Ahmanet ( Sofia Boutella )
Kira Lee (Chasty Ballesteros)
Set (Javier Botet)
Lorenzo Montanari (Dylan Smith)
King Menehptre (Selva Rasalingam)
Malik ( Marwan Kenzari )

A group of military commandos bring the entombed Mummy of Egyptian princess Ahmanet from Iraq note ancient Egyptians buried her far away from Egypt, in Mesopotamia to the UK. However, the long dormant mummy awakens, revealing herself as an ancient princess whose destiny was taken from her, and sets out unleashing her revenge.

The Mummy contains examples of:

Affirmative Action Girl : A meta-example. In a franchise that usually only has one female lead per-film, this remake has two, one of whom is the main antagonist.
Always Save the Girl : At the climax, when having to make the choice between saving the world from destruction through the god of death and saving the girl he met a couple of days back , Jack naturally goes for the latter.
Ambiguously Evil : While he's very much on Ahmanet's side after the first act , Vail insists that his earlier zombified killing spree was done to prevent her from getting her claws into Nick.
Ambition Is Evil : Ahmanet was mummified alive after she murdered most of her immediate family (father, stepmother and baby half-brother) in a bid to seize power in ancient Egypt .
Ancient Evil : Ahmanet was sealed away long ago and was accidentally released in the modern day.
Ancient Order of Protectors : Dr. Jekyll is part of a group called Prodigium, which at least appears to be one, as they have known about monsters for a long while.
And the Adventure Continues : Even lampshaded by Nick again saying "Where is your sense of adventure?"
Artistic License – History : Pretty much every detail about ancient Egypt is wrong — the look of the pyramids, the Egyptian beliefs of the dead, and Anubis. The biggest standout, though, is that the birth of a brother wouldn't challenge Ahmanet's ascension, it'd ensure it — the Egyptian royal family very much believed in Brother–Sister Incest to preserve the bloodline.
Artistic License – Linguistics : Jenny is shown to be a competent speaker of Ancient Egyptian. It's actually completely unknown what the language sounded like, as even the writing was a mystery until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799; even the "simple" Egyptian she speaks is well beyond what real-world linguistics would allow. This could be Handwaved by the fact that she works for Prodigium, who probably have much better resources for translating and linguistics seeing as they have to deal with ancient horrors.
Artistic License – Religion : Set is constantly described as the god of death. In actuality, he was the god of chaos, destruction, and war (and deserts, storms, foreign lands and so on), while death was wholly the domain of the more or less benign Osiris (god of the afterlife) and Anubis (god of funeral rites and cemeteries).
Back from the Dead : Ahmanet of course, but apparently also Nick Morton after his plane, carrying Ahmanet's sarcophagus, crashes. Jenny and Vail are also resurrected after Nick gains the power of Set.
Black Dude Dies First : Colonel Foster, the only black person in the movie, is the first to die courtesy of a possessed Vail.
Body Horror : The sight of a rotting killer mummy regenerating her flesh, fluids, organs and setting her shattered bones sure ain't pretty. What she does to the poor slobs she kills and resurrects, even less so. God, Ahmanet's mummified form is a twisted dessecated corpse after her awakening.
Bookends : The first and last scenes of the movie are Nick and Vail discussing a new place to go, with Vail disagreeing, Nick saying "Where's your sense of adventure?", and the two of them finally riding away on horses towards their next destination . The only difference is that in the end, while they are riding their horses, a sandstorm is trailing behind Nick, to indicate his new powers gained from Set .
Buried Alive : Ahmanet's punishment for murder, especially given she had accepted a Deal with the Devil . It took a lot of effort to hold her there, given how an entire tomb was built for it, a weight to keep her tomb under mercury, a pipe system to bring in fresh mercury to counteract her powers and keep them dormant, and all built a thousand miles away from Egypt, in what's currently Iraq.
Came Back Strong : Ahmanet apparently gave Nick super powers after she brought him back from the dead.

The Chosen One : Ahmanet chooses Nick to be the vessel for Set . This is why she resurrected him after the plane crash.
Creepy Crows : Ahmanet's original ritual includes the sacrifice of a large number of crows or ravens (we see them strung up by their feet, twitching). Later, gatherings of living corvids indicate her presence.
Curb-Stomp Battle : As is the case with most mummies, every single attempt to even try and impede Ahmanet sans Prodigium managing to capture her ends up with her opposition getting the shit kicked out of them or killed. Nick returns the favour when he impales himself with Set's powers.
Curse of the Pharaoh : The mummy this time is a Princess who tried to summon Set but was caught and then buried alive. After her tomb is discovered and her remains are removed, she starts cursing the people transporting her and begins feeding on people to regain strength.
Cute Monster Girl : Ahmanet seems far more attractive and human-like than the typical mummy, but this doesn't hide the fact that she's an undead Obviously Evil abomination.
Darker and Edgier : The film itself, while dark, is nowhere near as dark as the trailers made it look, but it is still much less comedic than The Mummy Trilogy .
Death from Above : Nick's allegedly foolproof plan in the beginning ends in a drone-launched missile strike against the small army of Iraqi insurrectionists they managed to piss off. One of the explosions accidentally opens up a hidden cavern beneath them and thus serves to kick off the present-day plot.
Dishing Out Dirt : Ahmanet unleashes a sandstorm on London. It doesn't come from nowhere: all glass in the vicinity is destroyed and turned into sand.
Distressed Dude : Many of the original Universal Monster movies featured a male monster chasing after a leading lady. This film features a female monster pursuing a male lead character.
Durable Deathtrap : Ahmanet's tomb, complete with a system of weights that keeps the sarcophagus dipped in mercury.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette : Ahmanet, combining a mane of black hair and an Undeathly Pallor .
A bit of Truth in Television as the Egyptian Pantheon operated under a more Order Versus Chaos morality than Black-and-White Morality , the closest they had to a God of Evil in actuality was Apep.
Evil Overlooker : Ahmanet's eyes are menacingly hovering over Nick on the poster.
The Evil Prince : Gender flipped , Ahmanet was a princess, and she became a vengeful mummy.
Explosive Instrumentation : One of the most blatant examples since the good old Star Trek days - when Ahmanet escapes Prodigium's hold, the entire room lights up like a New Year's Eve fireworks display in the wake of their tech detonating as if it was made from Semtex and magnesium.
Extra Eyes : Set's powers grant an extra pair of irises, as seen in Ahmanet's eyes. So does Nick after being possessed.
Eye of Horus Means Egypt : A very large "Eye Of Horus" is seen among the hieroglyphics in Princess Ahmanet's tomb. Possibly justified, as the Eye of Horus was actually a symbol of protection, which would be fitting in a tomb imprisoning an unspeakably powerful and evil being.
Face–Heel Turn : Dr. Jekyll's alter ego Mr. Hyde pretty much decides that aligning himself with Set would be much more fun in regards to just causing random chaos.
Feathered Fiend : Nick's plane crashes after a flock of Creepy Crows plows through the cockpit.
Gender Flip : Unlike many previous mummies from Universal and Hammer, the titular mummy of this film is female.
Gilligan Cut : The movie's present-day action begins with Nick assuring his reluctant partner-in-crime that entering the nearby Iraqi village is completely safe. Cue both of them being chased through the streets by angry insurrectionists with Michael Bay -level volumes of gunfire and explosions.
Girl Friday : Kira Lee is this to Dr. Henry Jekyll.
Glass-Shattering Sound : Ahmanet lets loose a shriek powerful enough to shatter various glass items after she's chained down.
God Save Us from the Queen! : Well, princess; Ahmanet was a princess, and she became a vengeful mummy.
God of Evil : Ahmanet, the eponymous Mummy, makes a Deal with the Devil with Set, the Egyptian God of the Desert (symbolizing chaos, storms, death, and the like). While Set is portrayed as somewhat more benign in the original myths, this does get the title for the Egyptian God of Evil a lot closer than works that promote Anubis to this role.
Going in Circles : Nick and Jenny escape from Ahmanet in an ambulance, but since she has a level of influence over Nick , he just drives straight back to the ruined abbey, thinking that he's found the highway.
Good Powers, Bad People : Set could bring the dead back to life in pristine condition. But doing the opposite is just more appealing for him.
Greater-Scope Villain : Set, the Egyptian god of evil, who had been made a deal with Ahmanet to kill her father.
Half the Man He Used to Be : One of Ahmanet's mummy goons gets his lower half torn off during a car chase with Nick and Jenny. He doesn't even seem to notice and continues to fight until his upper body gets torn apart as well.
Heir Club for Men : Ahmanet was the heir to her father's throne but lost the status as soon as her brother entered the line.
Incongruously-Dressed Zombie : The lesser mummies Nick encounters, unlike most film mummies, are the product of Ahmanet's life-draining attacks on modern-day victims. Therefore, they're dressed in ordinary street clothes, with nary a bandage, funerary mask, or hieroglyph to be seen. Doubly applies to the re-animated Crusader corpses, whose period outfits don't match modern England or ancient Egypt.
Insistent Terminology : Nick tries to tell Jenny what happened to him but as he is using layman's terms (coffin, writing) she keeps interrupting to correct his nomenclature (sarcophagus, hieroglyphics).
Jar of the Bizarre : In the Prodigium Headquarters, various objects are found in storage, including a human skull with fangs in a jar and a preserved gill-man arm in a cube-shaped case .
Jerkass : Nick is an arrogant, selfish, and occasionally cowardly and self serving guy. In layman's terms, he's kind of an asshole. Says something about Tom Cruise's performance that he still turns into an Loveable Rogue .
Kiss of Death : Ahmanet's preferred method of draining her victims of life force. Nick uses Set's powers to do the same to her at the end of the movie.
Living MacGuffin : Being the guy who broke the protective barrier, revealed the sarcophagus and first looked at its "face", Nick is imprinted by Ahmanet to become her "chosen one", to the point he survives a plane crash without a scratch.
Magic Pants : Regardless of how much Ahmanet regenerates or attacked, There always is juust enough wrappings left over to cover her naughty bits.
Male Gaze : There are a few scenes of the camera focused firmly on Ahmanet's behind as she's doing her evil thing.
Nick as in Old Nick the Devil, and Mort on, as in French for 'death'.
Monumental Damage : The sandstorm engulfs the British Houses of Parliament and destroys the clock faces of Big Ben.
Morality Pet : Jenny tends to bring out the best in Nick, but in the end he's savvy enough to admit that his love for her isn't powerful enough to keep Seth at bay by itself.
"A new world of gods and monsters" refers to a famous quote from Bride of Frankenstein .
Ahmanet can summon a face in her conjured sandstorms, something done previously in The Mummy Trilogy
Also from the previous Mummy movies, during the battle in the Prodigium library, Jenny punches someone with the Book of Amun-Ra note (The book is clearly shown to be made of gold, with the Eye of Horus engraved in the center of the lock - it is therefore not the Book of the Dead, which was black and had an embossed scarab in the lock).
In Jekyll's underground facility , the camera lingers on a hand belonging to Gill-Man , and on a vampire skull .
Naked on Revival : Nick wakes up naked within a body bag in a morgue, after being part of a plane crash.
Naked People Are Funny : After Nick's aforementioned morgue awakening, he is initially startled by Chris' ghost appearing before him, but Jenny and two coroners enter the room, leading to a comical beat where he remembers he's naked and quickly covers himself.
Night of the Living Mooks : Every living being that Ahmanet drains of their life turns into a withered undead husk that follows her every whim. The only upside is that they're about as durable as you'd expect. The resurrected crusaders are this as well.
Nipple and Dimed : Hilariously, Ahmanet's nude scene at the beginning has her nipple clearly and clumsily blurred out.
Obviously Evil : In addition to the mummy wrappings, Ahmanet has scarification tattoos on her face, and two irises/pupils in each eye . Yeah, she's clearly a demonic sorceress.
Orifice Invasion : Ahmanet escapes Prodigium's holding facility by summoning a spider, have it crawl into one of the prison operators' ear, take control of him and let him disable the mechanisms that are keeping her restrained .
Our Liches Are Different : After she's resurrected as a mummy, Princess Ahmanet displays vast sorcerous powers courtesy of her Deal with the Devil with Set, including necromancy, telepathy, and summoning sandstorms.
The Power of Glass : With the Dagger of Set, Ahmanet destroys all of the glass in the London to create a massive storm as a show of power.
Punny Name : Nick Mort on is a guy who apparently dies and comes back to life.
Recycled Trailer Music : The second trailer has the instrumental parts of The Rolling Stones ' "Paint It Black".
Revisiting the Roots : The movie seems to be going back to its original concept as a horror film like the 1932 movie whereas previous installments were more action-adventure with some horror and some comedy.
Reconstruction : Reconstructs a major complaint about the previous entry in the franchise: rather than her god-like power and immortality coming from her mummification, she'd already made a deal with Set for them and the mummification was to imprison her.
Sadly Mythtaken : Set is not the Egyptian god of the dead, death, OR evil. note That would be Osiris, Anubis, and the closest approximation (but still not quite a god of evil) would be Apep. He was the god of the desert, storms, foreigners, and chaos.
Sealed Evil in a Can : Ahmanet was Buried Alive in a tomb build specifically for that purpose, which the movie's protagonists conveniently break open.
Seductive Mummy : When Ahmanet is first resurrected she starts out as a dessicated walking corpse, but after devouring enough lifeforce from her victims to restore her body she becomes a Cute Monster Girl . She also tries to seduce the hero by sending him visions, though she appears as she did when she was human.
Shirtless Scene : Three from Tom Cruise 's character; two from visions Ahmanet gives him, and one when he wakes up naked in the morgue .
One of the first things Dr Jekyll says to Nick: Dr Jekyll: I would like, if I may, to tell you a story...
The protagonist talking to the decayed corpse/spirit of his comrade in a London pub is a fairly direct reference to An American Werewolf in London .
The basic premise of a beautiful, undead woman with godlike powers rampaging through London whilst raising an army of undead by sucking out the life-force of her victims bears more than a passing resemblance to the infamous 1985 "Naked Space Vampire Movie" Lifeforce (1985) .
There are two nods to The Mummy (1999) : the visual of an evil screaming face appearing in a sandstorm, and the Book of Amun-Ra from that film used as an improvised weapon.
Nick is drawn to Ahmanet, just as Helena is drawn to Imhotep in the 1932 Mummy.
Nick steals the dagger off Ahmanet in the same way Jonathan steals the star-shaped key off Imhotep; during a Neck Lift .
A scarab worms its way into a hapless Red Shirt 's brain in the 1999 movie.
The underwater fight with Ahmanet and her undead minions alludes to a similar scene in Lucio Fulci 's Zombi 2 .
Sadly Mythtaken : The assumption that Set is the God of Evil is a common misconception continued in the film, with the closest God of Evil to the Ancient Egyptians being Apep.
There's also the use of mercury as a weapon against monsters, given its similar properties to silver.
The Smurfette Principle : Downplayed. Jenny is the only woman among the expedition group, but she isn't the only woman of major importance in the film.
Spirit Advisor : Vail is one retaining his fatal injuries , something which reviewers made sure to compare to An American Werewolf in London .
Start X to Stop X : Prodigum's plans for the dagger involve releasing Set into Nick so they can destroy his body in a controlled environment, vanquishing the dark god while he's still freshly installed in a mortal shell.
Super-Empowering : Ahmanet does this to Nick when she brings him back.
Superpowered Evil Side : Hyde for Jekyll and ultimately Set for Nick.
Tailor-Made Prison : The Egyptians buried the mummified Ahmanet in one of these; buried thousands of miles from Egypt beneath the Iraqi desert in a cavern miles below the surface, her sarcophagus submerged in a pool of mercury and surrounded by protective statues of Anubis to keep her imprisoned within. At the film's end, Prodigium places the defeated Ahmanet back in her sarcophagus, flood it with mercury and then bury it in the catacombs beneath London to imprison her once more .
Takes One to Kill One : Dr. Jekyll states this at the end of the movie, after Nick completes the ritual and allows Set to inhabit him in order to defeat Ahmanet . Dr. Henry Jekyll : Sometimes, it takes a monster to fight a monster.
Tragic Monster : A strange example with Nick Morton . He has the typical beginnings of a tragic monster — in order to save someone he loves, he adopts a dark power that alters his personality and forces him into exile as he becomes a hunted man — but the trope ends up played more optimistically, with Nick's human side retaining a large amount of agency as he searches for a way to lift the curse, while he's set up to become a central hero in the franchise as a monster who fights other monsters .
Undeath Always Ends : Subverted. By the end of the film Nick uses Set's power to take away Ahmanet's lifeforce, but the fact that the Prodigium goes through the effort of resealing her corpse back inside her warded sarcophagus indicates that she's still not truly destroyed.
Villainesses Want Heroes : Nick is resurrected by Ahmanet as part of her plans, but she also appears to have a more personal interest in him if her leaning in close to Nick longingly on more than one occasion is any indication. Ahmanet: Come to me...
Waking Up at the Morgue : Nick does this after the plane crash, apparently without a scratch on him. Its depiction in the trailer also doubles as a Jump Scare due to its editing.
We Can Rule Together : Ahmanet says such to Nick, claiming that he can rule beside her after she has Set possess his body. Since doing so involves getting stabbed in the chest by a ceremonial dagger , Nick's not too keen on it. Hyde makes a similar offer a few minutes later, but he's not very interested in dominion and is more keen on all the destruction he and Set can cause.
"This isn't a tomb. It's a prison."
For those unprepared for it, "My name is Jekyll, Dr. Henry Jekyll." can throw people in for a loop.
In a way, Nick grabbing a berserk Jekyll's hand to activate the handprint scanner, which detects him as "E Hyde" instead.
It appears that Nick has willingly handing over the dagger for Ahmanet to complete her ritual, and then suddenly, he completes the ritual himself, by stabbing himself in the abdomen .
Would Hit a Girl : After the clear threat level Ahmanet displays and later killing Jenny and smacking him around the room like rag doll, Nick has zero qualms delivering a return beatdown upon gaining Set's powers before violently draining the life energy from her.
Yandere : Ahmanet. While her goal is to resurrect Set inside of Nick , Ahmanet seems to actively despise Jenny, reacting in jealously and rage when Jenny pulls Nick away from her to escape Prodigium and later drowns Jenny so that she can have Nick.
You Can't Kill What's Already Dead : Zigzagged Trope . The mummies in the film raised by Ahmanet are actually far more vulnerable than human mooks, as one might expect from a decaying body. However, they still ignore all pain and keep coming after losing one or more limbs . Ahmanet herself is much tougher, in no small part thanks to her magic.
You Taste Delicious : In the climax Ahmanet pins down Nick (whom she is looking to make her consort ) and licks his face with an Overly-Long Tongue .

"She's got plans for you, Nick."

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Condemned to eternal darkness.

Ahmanet goes from being the heir to Egypt to its potential destroyer when she sells her soul to Set. After killing her family, she tries to bring Set into the mortal realm, only to be imprisoned for eternity.

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Princess Ahmanet

There's a time ...

Just WAKE UP!!!!!

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Condemned to Et...

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The mummy - official trailer #2 [hd].

On June 9, #TheMummy will be awoken. Watch the new trailer now. -- Follow: https://www.facebook.com/TheMummy/ https://twitter.com/themummy https://www.instagram.com/themummy/ -- Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy. Thought safely entombed in a tomb deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient princess (Sofia Boutella of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension. From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters. Cruise is joined by a cast including Annabelle Wallis (upcoming King Arthur, television’s Peaky Blinders), Jake Johnson (Jurassic World), Courtney B. Vance (TV’s American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson) and Oscar® winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator). The creative team on this action-adventure event is led by director/producer Alex Kurtzman and producer Chris Morgan, who have been instrumental in growing some of the most successful franchises of the past several years—with Kurtzman writing or producing entries in the Transformers, Star Trek and Mission: Impossible series, and Morgan being the narrative engineer of the Fast & Furious saga as it has experienced explosive growth from its third chapter on. Sean Daniel, who produced the most recent Mummy trilogy, produces alongside Kurtzman and Morgan. www.themummy.com #TomCruise

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Revealed: Brendan Fraser—Not Tom Cruise—Was Always Top Pick for ‘The Mummy,’ Director Says

Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

Filmmaker Stephen Sommers always wanted to make a mummy movie. The problem was, he didn’t know if anyone actually wanted to see it.

“I was really nervous,” Sommers tells The Daily Beast ahead of this month’s 25th anniversary of his surprise '90s hit The Mummy . “I was in post-production and thought, ‘Oh crap, I’ve made a mummy movie.’ I loved the genre… the action, adventure, romance and horror, and I loved the original Mummy movies too but for 40 years, they’d made fun of mummies. You can unwrap them, outrun them, use them as Christmas wrapping… I suddenly thought, ‘Oh my God. Just because I love mummy movies, maybe other people won't.”

Thankfully, he had little to worry about. Released on May 7 1999, Sommers’ take on The Mummy was a sweeping adventure harkening back to the swashbuckling stories of old Hollywood. Mixing sand-set excitement, witty humor, an unlikely dose of romance and some then-groundbreaking CGI effects, his film not only made worldwide stars of Brendan Fraser , Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah but became one of the highest-grossing movies of the year, spawning a new franchise and changing the way Hollywood’s summer tentpoles were released.

That said, its road to success was trickier to navigate than an ancient tomb. Before audiences met chiseled hero Rick O’Connell (Fraser), Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan (Weisz), her plucky brother John (Hannah), and the recently resurrected Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo)—a cursed high priest determined to reunite with his bride (Patricia Velásquez)—Hollywood had struggled for a long time trying to bring The Mummy back to life.

“I’d wanted to make my version for years,” says Sommers, recalling his route to the director’s chair. “I love the original Boris Karloff movie. As a kid it took me to ancient Egypt and Cairo in the ’30s and my imagination took over.” For almost a decade prior, Universal had asked numerous filmmakers for a new Mummy movie, from Clive Barker and Joe Dante, to Wes Craven and George A. Romero. By the time Sommers arrived, they were up for trying anything. “They were so sick of developing this thing for nine years that they didn’t even hear my initial pitch,” says Sommers. “My agent just called them up and said I was interested in writing and directing.”

The call was enough to secure a meeting with producers Jim Jacks and Sean Daniel where Sommers laid out his vision. “They always tell you to keep your pitches to 15 or 20 minutes; I pitched for an hour and 20 because I had every single thing figured out. For years they were trying to do a literal remake of the Karloff movie. It was going to be low-budget and filmed on sound stages,” says Sommers, revealing that “the previous draft to mine all took place in Los Angeles. There was a mummy exhibition at a museum. The mummy breaks out of his sarcophagus and literally at one point goes down Melrose Avenue and Venice Beach.”

Brendon Fraser in The Mummy in 1999.

Sommers instead took inspiration from a different movie, one that was influential in shaping Indiana Jones. “I love Raiders [of the Lost Ark] but my all-time favorite movie is Captain Blood . I know [Steven] Spielberg was very influenced by that movie. It had lots of action and swashbuckling but it’s very well written and cinematically beautiful,” says the director, foreshadowing the grand dune shots featured in The Mummy . “That afternoon, Universal called and said ‘We want you to go for it’—I think because they just weren’t getting excited about doing a remake of the original. So I went off and did it.”

As production began, Sommers was buoyed by some good fortune. For starters, when his cast and crew arrived in Morocco (the film also shot in Egypt, Jordan and Pinewood Studios), they were met by an omen. “We were out in the desert and an albino camel was born—and that was good luck,” he smiles, explaining how local culture impacted his animal extras. As if that wasn’t enough, an internal staff reshuffle at Universal gave Sommers the rarest of things: a healthy budget and zero hassle. “[The new boss’s] attitude was ‘if this movie is a bomb, blame it on the last guys,’” he laughs. “They never gave me notes—and nobody from the studio ever showed up while shooting. They just let me do my thing.”

Should Brendan Fraser Give Back His Oscar After ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’?

In the years since The Mummy ’s release, stories about the film’s production have made their way online, some of which were recently brought back to the fore after Fraser’s recent Oscar win for The Whale . Looking back, Sommers is keen to clear a few of them up—especially the ones about casting.

“I read somewhere recently that we originally went to Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt [for the role of Rick O’Connell]—but no. My editor read the first draft and right away said, ‘Your lead guy is Brendan Fraser,” he remembers. “We needed a guy who could throw a punch, take a punch, had a wink in his eye and a sense of humor, and there weren’t a lot of actors at that point who did that. Brendan can make fun of himself and goes all out. He was the only one considered from the get-go. [Universal] weren’t looking for a star; the title was the star.”

As for that recent story about the time Fraser nearly died when a hanging scene went awry , Sommers assures us it wasn’t nearly as dangerous as clickbait headlines would have you believe. “Brendan put the rope around his neck and got too into it,” says Sommers, sharing his recollection of the experience. “He’s a very eager guy and was like ‘tighten it up… make it tight around the neck.’”

When the stunt began, gravity did its thing and cut off his carotid arteries. “What he didn’t realize is that it cuts off blood flow and he knocked himself out. Obviously, if we’d have walked away he could have died—but we were all standing there,” assures Sommers. “He woke up and didn’t even know what had happened. It was more of a humorous thing,” he continues, “and Brendan did it to himself so he can’t blame anybody.”

Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis in The Mummy in 2017.

Wikipedia and IMDb tell stories of sandstorms impacting the shoot but the director says they were more “magical than annoying.” Meanwhile, rumors that the film’s cast had kidnapping insurance taken out on them while shooting in Morocco is also news to Sommers. “My sister sent me an article that said ‘Stephen Sommers took out some sort of insurance on all the actors and never told them.’ No,” he confirms. “Studios probably take out insurance in case someone dies halfway through but I certainly wouldn’t be the one to take out insurance on any of my actors. We were very well protected in Morocco.”

The only issues Sommers does recall involve heatstroke and British soccer star David Beckham : “I was running from one set to the other in the desert and somebody said I better slow down or I’ll get heatstroke. I felt fine but all of a sudden it hit me. I went from feeling completely normal to feeling like I was drunk,” recalls Sommers. “While filming the first Mummy , Beckham got tossed out [of the 1998 World Cup],” he adds, explaining that the incident had a clear impact on his largely British crew: “Everyone was really depressed the next day.”

When it came time to release The Mummy , expectations were low. Plus, it wasn’t the only effects-laden release to hit screens in spring 1999. “[Universal] didn’t know what kind of movie they had,” explains Sommers. “We came out two weeks before The Phantom Menace which of course was going to be ginormous because there hadn’t been a Star Wars movie in years.”

The Mummy opened to $43.4 million its opening weekend (compared to $64.8 million for The Phantom Menace two weeks later) and went on to gross $416 million worldwide on an $80 million budget. “It was such a big hit that from then on, the first weekend of summer for movies was considered the first weekend of May,” Sommers explains.

Tom Cruise Is Still Great, Even After ‘The Mummy’

Sommers’ movie spawned two direct sequels including 2001’s The Mummy Returns and 2008’s Weisz-less The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor . It even gave Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson his first leading role in 2002 spin-off The Scorpion King . Cut to 2024 and cinema finds itself in an age of legacy sequels and reboots. Universal tried a remake with Cruise in 2017 as part of its since-scrapped Dark Universe monster franchise but it didn’t stick. So why does Hollywood have such trouble resurrecting The Mummy ?

“I think you really have to love the character,” reasons Sommers, referencing the 1932 original. “It was magical and took me back to ancient Egypt and sometimes people don’t get why you would love something like that. Not to disparage the Tom Cruise one but to me, it was kind of a zombie movie. It’s not a mummy movie. I just didn’t get it.” The filmmaker remembers how, when Rick finally defeats Imhotep in his film, audiences had mixed emotions—something that he feels is key: “He’s an evil guy but you kind of feel sorry for him. He’s doing what he’s doing for love so you understand where he’s coming from.”

As for whether he’d ever consider revisiting Rick and Evelyn’s story? “I go back and forth,” he says, contemplating the idea. “I love the characters and that I got to do two movies with them. There’s a whole new group of people [at Universal] doing different stuff. I can’t imagine revisiting it but never say never,” he adds. “I did enjoy making those movies.”

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The Mummy 25th Anniversary Re-Release Wins Big at the Box Office

The re-release of The Mummy starring Brendan Fraser has seen success at the box office...could this spark talk of The Mummy 4?

The Mummy reeled in over $1 million during its 25th anniversary re-release in 1,200 theaters across North America.
The action-adventure film originally released in 1999 stars Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and Arnold Vosloo.
Brendan Fraser reflects on the fun factor that made the 1999 Mummy successful while considering the prospects for The Mummy 4 .

The beloved 1999 action-adventure The Mummy has uncovered a tidy sum at the box office following its 25th anniversary re-release . The Mummy , which stars Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and Arnold Vosloo as the titular Universal monster, was released in theaters once again over the weekend in celebration of its original release more than two decades ago.

The Mummy was re-released in more than 1,200 theaters across North America and has now grossed just over $1 million at the box office. When compared to other recent releases of classic movies, The Mummy didn’t quite reach the heights of Alien’s $1.5 million or Shrek 2’s $1.4 million, but nonetheless shows that audiences cannot get enough of Fraser and his 90s action-adventure throwback.

The Mummy (1999)

Released back in 1999, the first The Mummy stars Brendan Fraser as adventurer Rick O'Connell alongside Rachel Weisz as Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan. The seemingly mismatched pair must work together when a cursed high priest with supernatural powers, Imhotep, is accidentally awakened and proceeds to carry out his vendetta against mankind.

Upon release, The Mummy garnered $416.4 million at the worldwide box office, with its success spawning a sequel in 2001’s The Mummy Returns in 2001. This was then followed by a threequel, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008, which starred Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh alongside Fraser.

The Mummy Franchise Was Rebooted by Tom Cruise in 2017

The Mummy franchise has since been rebooted by Tom Cruise and director Alex Kurtzman as part of the ill-fated Dark Universe. Sadly, the reboot never reached the heights of the 1999 effort, with Fraser himself having since pondered what went wrong with the project .

“It is hard to make that movie. The ingredient that we had going for our Mummy, which I didn’t see in that film, was fun. That was what was lacking in that incarnation. It was too much of a straight-ahead horror movie. The Mummy should be a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary. I know how difficult it is to pull it off. I tried to do it three times.”

The Mummy at 25: How the Movie Almost Didn't Get Made

Brendan Fraser has since undergone a major career resurgence in recent years, with the actor winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his lead performance in director Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale . The actor also featured as part of the stellar cast in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon , and will next star alongside Josh Brolin, Peter Dinklage, and Taylour Paige in Palm Springs director Max Barbakow’s upcoming comedy, Brothers .

But could Fraser ever be tempted to reprise the role of Rick O'Connell and once again do battle with a mummy? Well, asked about the prospect of The Mummy 4 back in February last year, Fraser certainly sounded open to the prospect.

“Sounds like fun. I’m always looking for a job. If anyone’s got the right conceit. I think I’ve never been as famous, and never been as unsalaried at the moment as I am right now. So spread the word.”

Flowing Cents

The Mummy Was Overrated: 10 ‘Big’ Movies That Were Quickly Forgotten

Posted: May 2, 2024 | Last updated: May 2, 2024

<p><span>Some films grab the audience’s attention with a phenomenal release and then quickly disappear. These films require huge budgets, hard work, and effort from filmmakers but cannot hit the mark. People are left scratching their heads, wondering where these movies went wrong. Here’s a list of ten such ‘big’ films that didn’t stay in our minds for long.</span></p>

Some films grab the audience’s attention with a phenomenal release and then quickly disappear. These films require huge budgets, hard work, and effort from filmmakers but cannot hit the mark. People are left scratching their heads, wondering where these movies went wrong. Here’s a list of ten such ‘big’ films that didn’t stay in our minds for long.

<p><span>An old tale of heroic courage! We get the vibes of epic fantasy video games from the cutscenes and skeptical depictions in the movie. However, it gives the humanistic side to Beowulf’s character by making him flawed and irresponsible. Upon that, Ray Winstone adds more charm with his impactful performance by playing the role of a legendary character of our ancient tales. </span></p>

1. Beowulf (2007)

With the direction of Robert Zemeckis Beowulf , with famous leading actors like Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie. It was an adult-targeted animated 3D film. The budget for this film was a huge $150 million, and it earned well. However, after making $197 million in theatres, it couldn’t make a lasting impact.

<p><em><span>Cowboys and Aliens</span></em><span> was a creative idea that combined cowboys and aliens. Jon Favreau directed it, and the movie starred big names like Daniel Craig and</span> <span>Harrison Ford</span><em><span>.</span></em><span> It seemed destined to be a hit but disappointed people. Its dull delivery and complex story didn’t leave much of an impression, so it was forgotten soon after its release.</span></p>

2. Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

Cowboys and Aliens was a creative idea that combined cowboys and aliens. Jon Favreau directed it, and the movie starred big names like Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford . It seemed destined to be a hit but disappointed people. Its dull delivery and complex story didn’t leave much of an impression, so it was forgotten soon after its release.

<p><span>Brad Bird directed </span><em><span>Tomorrowland</span></em><span>, which George Clooney starred in. Inspired by a Disney theme park, this movie tends to take viewers on a journey to a world of opportunity. Even with big-name actors and a fantastic story, the movie didn’t win over critics or the public. Its complicated story and predictable themes made it hard for people to get into. Not long after its release, it disappeared from cinemas.</span></p>

3. Tomorrowland (2015)

Brad Bird directed Tomorrowland , which George Clooney starred in. Inspired by a Disney theme park, this movie tends to take viewers on a journey to a world of opportunity. Even with big-name actors and a fantastic story, the movie didn’t win over critics or the public. Its complicated story and predictable themes made it hard for people to get into. Not long after its release, it disappeared from cinemas.

<p><span>Based on the spectacular success of the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Disney planned to produce a fourth film with a budget of almost $410 million. The plan was to lengthen the story of Captain Jack Sparrow(played by Johnny Depp). Unfortunately, critics claimed the movie was unnecessary, and the new plot added nothing to the original plot. Despite that, it earned a billion! The film inspired a fifth movie, which concluded the beloved series. </span></p>

4. Pirates of the Caribbean Sequels (2011, 2017)

After the original Pirates of the Caribbean movies did well, Disney came out with two more, On Stranger Tides in 2011 and Dead Men Tell No Tales in 2017. These sequels had famous actors like Ian McShane and Javier Bardem, along with great special effects. But these movies couldn’t bring back the spark of the first three.

<p><span>Alex Kurtzman</span> <span>directed this movie and had big plans to launch Universal’s Dark Universe franchise with this movie. Starring Tom Cruise and with a massive $120 million budget, it looked set to be a hit. But even though the film had great visuals and lots of action, it couldn’t make a huge success. The loss also stopped Universal’s dream of making more sequels.</span></p>

5. The Mummy (2017)

Alex Kurtzman directed this movie and had big plans to launch Universal’s Dark Universe franchise with this movie. Starring Tom Cruise and with a massive $120 million budget, it looked set to be a hit. But even though the film had great visuals and lots of action, it couldn’t make a huge success. The loss also stopped Universal’s dream of making more sequels.

<p><span>In 2017, Luc Besson</span> <span>brought out </span><em><span>Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets</span></em><span>. It was inspired by a French comic called Valérian and Laureline and promised an adventure across space that looked incredible. Valerian was a massive and impressive movie. But it didn’t really click with viewers who weren’t already fans. A student said the story was all over the place, and they didn’t bring their character’s lives well. </span></p>

6. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

In 2017, Luc Besson brought out Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets . It was inspired by a French comic called Valérian and Laureline and promised an adventure across space that looked incredible. Valerian was a massive and impressive movie. But it didn’t really click with viewers who weren’t already fans. A student said the story was all over the place, and they didn’t bring their character’s lives well.

<p><em><span>Johnny Depp </span></em><span>performed in Dark Shadows, directed by Tim Burton, as a funny version of the old spooky TV show. The film had weird folks and creepy laughs. Even with famous actors and unique sets, though, it just wasn’t like his classic movies. When it came out, Dark Shadows was kind of forgotten now in Burton’s collection of movies.</span></p>

7. Dark Shadows (2012)

Johnny Depp performed in Dark Shadows, directed by Tim Burton, as a funny version of the old spooky TV show. The film had weird folks and creepy laughs. Even with famous actors and unique sets, though, it just wasn’t like his classic movies. When it came out, Dark Shadows was kind of forgotten now in Burton’s collection of movies.

<p><span> Gore </span><em><span>Verbinski </span></em><span>directed this action film with stars Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. </span><em><span>The Lone Ranger</span></em><span> aimed to breathe new life into the old Western show, complete with grand scenery and thrilling action scenes. It was supposed to capture what made the original radio and TV series great. Sadly, it didn’t hit the mark with viewers, got mixed reviews, and didn’t make enough money. Even though it looked great, the movie was too long, and the story wasn’t engaging, so people soon forgot about it.</span></p>

8. The Lone Ranger (2013)

Gore Verbinski directed this action film with stars Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. The Lone Ranger aimed to breathe new life into the old Western show, complete with grand scenery and thrilling action scenes. It was supposed to capture what made the original radio and TV series great. Sadly, it didn’t hit the mark with viewers, got mixed reviews, and didn’t make enough money. Even though it looked great, the movie was too long, and the story wasn’t engaging, so people soon forgot about it.

<p><em><span>The Great Wall, </span></em><span>with Matt Damon leading the cast, is a historical fantasy movie that was supposed to blend Eastern and Western storylines. The movie portrayed battles and detailed fight scenes, but it didn’t catch on much outside of China. People criticized the film for using a white actor in a leading role and said the plot was confusing.</span></p>

9. The Great Wall (2016)

The Great Wall, with Matt Damon leading the cast, is a historical fantasy movie that was supposed to blend Eastern and Western storylines. The movie portrayed battles and detailed fight scenes, but it didn’t catch on much outside of China. People criticized the film for using a white actor in a leading role and said the plot was confusing.

<p><span>David Twohy brought </span><em><span>The Chronicles of Riddick,</span></em><span> starring Vin Diesel. With big goals for creating and plenty of action, this film set out to explore the backstory of the character Riddick. Yet, even with</span> <span>Vin Diesel’s performance and stunning visuals, it didn’t charm audiences as the original had done. </span></p>

10. The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

David Twohy brought The Chronicles of Riddick, starring Vin Diesel. With big goals for creating and plenty of action, this film set out to explore the backstory of the character Riddick. Yet, even with Vin Diesel’s performance and stunning visuals, it didn’t charm audiences as the original had done.

<p><span>In the realm of celebrities, certain individuals’ attractiveness transcends the screen, captivating the hearts and minds of fans worldwide. These stars possess a magnetic presence, leaving a lasting impression with their striking looks and undeniable charm. Recently, people shared such celebrities on an online platform whose sheer attractiveness is nothing short of distracting. </span></p><ul> <li><a href="https://maxmymoney.org/10-celebrities-that-are-distractingly-attractive/">10 Celebrities That Are Distractingly Attractive</a></li> </ul>

10 Celebrities That Are Distractingly Attractive

In the realm of celebrities, certain individuals’ attractiveness transcends the screen, captivating the hearts and minds of fans worldwide. These stars possess a magnetic presence, leaving a lasting impression with their striking looks and undeniable charm. Recently, people shared such celebrities on an online platform whose sheer attractiveness is nothing short of distracting.

<p><span>Johnny Depp’s lousy hygiene comes from how he takes care of himself. He has been known to live a bohemian lifestyle, with messy hair, a dirty beard, and odd clothing choices. Even though this might be a style choice, it can sometimes look like the person doesn’t care about standard grooming.</span></p>

10 Surprising Movie Characters That Could Never Be Replaced With a New Actor

Sometimes a show or movie is different with the actors playing the characters. Would we love their characters as much if they were played by someone else? See who people claim could never be replaced in their iconic roles with another.

<p>Movies are subjective, and what one person considers a cinematic masterpiece, another may view as a cringe-worthy disaster. However, some films have gained a reputation for being particularly terrible yet still manage to capture the hearts of audiences. These are the guilty pleasure movies that people love to hate but can’t help but watch again and again.</p><ul> <li> <p class="entry-title"><a href="https://maxmymoney.org/terrible-movies-people-love-but-admit-are-horrible/">10 Terrible Movies People Love, But Admit Are Horrible</a></p> </li> </ul>

10 Terrible Movies People Love, But Admit Are Horrible

Movies are subjective, and what one person considers a cinematic masterpiece, another may view as a cringe-worthy disaster. However, some films have gained a reputation for being particularly terrible yet still manage to capture the hearts of audiences. These are the guilty pleasure movies that people love to hate but can’t help but watch again and again.

<p>“That stuff irks me. Boyfriend's colleague knew him for all of a few days and had a couple work related conversations. She messaged him incessantly with no responses, then confessed her feelings to him by text fully aware he was in a relationship. I can't be mad at someone being interested in him, cause he's great and you can't help feelings, but at least respect what is already there. Not only was she unfazed by our relationship, but her own as well seeing as she had a long term boyfriend she was ready to throw away. It's not romantic, it's stupid,” one woman shared.</p>

10 Terrible Things That Automatically Ruin Good Movies

Lights, camera, action! Movies are the ultimate adventure, taking us on a journey to fantastical lands, introducing us to characters out of this world, and stirring emotions within us. However, not all movies are created equal, and certain things can instantly ruin a movie for some viewers. Recently, in a platform discussion, people shared several things that can automatically ruin movies.

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Screen Rant

New 83% horror movie is the perfect way to reboot the dark universe 7 years after tom cruise's failure.

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Universal’s New Horror Movie Confirms Dracula’s Perfect Character Replacement After 127 Years

Abigail digital release date confirmed after just 2 full weeks in theaters, melissa barrera's new horror movie repeats a viral killer act from $181 million hit.

Abigail proves to be the perfect reset for the Dark Universe, focusing on strong characters and thrilling storytelling.
The horror approach in Abigail sets up a potential reboot of the Dark Universe with R-rated, full-horror entries.
While Abigail hints at the possibility of a new Dark Universe, its fate depends on box office success for future development.

Universal Pictures has the perfect way to reboot the Dark Universe years after Tom Cruise failed to do so thanks to its new vampire horror movie Abigail . The catalog of iconic horror characters at Universal's disposal put the studio in a position where it wanted to relaunch its Dark Universe for modern audiences. Tom Cruise's 2017 movie The Mummy was meant to be the start of a sprawling monster universe that included everyone from the Invisible Man to Frankenstein and Van Helsing. However, these hopes came to an abrupt end after The Mummy 's box office did not match expectations.

With Tom Cruise failing to relaunch the shared universe, the Dark Universe could not move forward, even after the studio infamously brought Cruise, Russell Crowe, Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp, and Sofia Boutella together for a photo shoot to promote the cinematic universe. This left Universal in a position where it began reprioritizing individual horror movies involving monsters and supernatural creatures instead of worrying about setting up the Dark Universe . That has now led to Abigail , and the movie about a Dracula-esque vampire's daughter could now be what gets the Dark Universe up and running again.

2024's Abigail is an exciting reimagining of the vampire horror subgenre, potentially showing the best way to replace a classic character.

Abigail Is A Better Starting Point For A New Dark Universe Than The Mummy

Tom cruise's movie was weighed down by universe plotting.

*Availability in US

By the time that Abigail 's ending comes to a close, the movie proves how it could be the perfect reset for the Dark Universe. The film primarily focuses on the main story of survival as the people who kidnap Abigail try to avoid becoming her latest victims. With Radio Silence at the helm, Abigail is a thrilling and gory vampire film that introduces great new characters, including a revamped version of Dracula and his daughter. It is through this approach that the movie still manages to plant enough seeds that there is a greater mythology at play in Abigail 's universe .

The difference between Abigail and The Mummy is that the newer vampire flick is able to get audiences invested in this world and characters and leaves them wanting more. The Mummy was not able to do that. The film was weighed down by expectations that it would set up the Dark Universe. This meant including several moments that felt like they were only included to set up a larger franchise, like Russell Crowe's Dr. Henry Jekyll appearing. That distracted from the main story The Mummy was telling, leaving audiences without strong connections to Tom Cruise's character.

Abigail 's smaller focus and expectations gave it a major advantage over The Mummy . Abigail could work as a standalone vampire movie and still be a satisfying adventure without Joey and Abigail's story continuing. However, The Mummy was much too focused on being big enough and successful enough that the Dark Universe plans could come to fruition. The end result was The Mummy being maligned by critics and performing moderately at the box office, while Abigail 's Rotten Tomatoes score is incredibly high and word of mouth is strong.

Abigail's Horror Approach Would Be Great For The Dark Universe

The dark universe can be scary again.

One of the biggest benefits to Abigail launching the Dark Universe would be how it utilizes the horror genre. The film fully leans into the amount of scares and blood that should be in a vampire movie. The Radio Silence team are no strangers to reinventing horror franchises for modern audiences after their work on Scream , and they have done it again with Abigail . It might seem obvious that a vampire movie should embrace the horror genre, but that is not what the Dark Universe did before.

Even before The Mummy really tried to launch the Dark Universe, Universal's 2014 movie Dracula Untold attempted the same. The vampire movie had some tinges of horror, but the PG-13 movie leaned more into action when it could. The Mummy went a step further with that approach by utilizing Tom Cruise's greatest strengths to make the film a major action blockbuster, one that just happened to include supernatural creatures. Although none of the other canceled Dark Universe movies were made, it seems that Universal wanted PG-13 movies that skewed more action than horror to be made.

Abigail establishes the precedent for R-rated, full-horror entries in a potential new Dark Universe. After seeing how well it worked with vampires, Universal could apply the same approach to other characters. The studio already did so with Invisible Man in 2020, and the upcoming The Wolf Man reimagining could do the same. It would make sense for any other potential additions to a new Dark Universe would follow Radio Silence's lead with Abigail and give the iconic horror creatures the genre treatment they deserve.

Abigail's Shared Universe Teases Set Up How The Dark Universe Can Be Reborn

Other universal monsters could exist in abigail's universe.

There is already some groundwork for how Abigail could relaunch the Dark Universe thanks to the world it sets up. Abigail's father is designed as a stand-in for Dracula , and the movie includes enough teases that he is the proper version of the legendary vampire for Matthew Goode's character to take on that role in future installments. There are no other Universal Monsters who definitively or subtly are suggested to exist in Abigail 's universe. But, the movie does tease that Abigail and Ready or Not exist in the same universe , which could be key to a new Dark Universe beginning.

Abigail 's Ready or Not Easter egg is notable beyond the Radio Silence connection because it means that demons also exist in this world. The fact that demons and vampires are now confirmed to occupy the same franchise is a great way for Universal to get the Dark Universe off the ground. It now becomes easier to accept that other supernatural beings and characters exist in this world beyond vampires. This could be how Wolfman, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Invisible Man, and other classic Universal Monster characters are seamlessly introduced.

Will Universal Move Forward With Abigail's New Dark Universe?

Abigail was not intended to launch a shared universe.

Just because Abigail could be the start of a new Dark Universe doesn't mean that it will. The fate of the potential new horror franchise is undecided. Universal has not confirmed any plans for Abigail 2 to be made, nor that the film will directly connect to any other upcoming horror movies. The studio has learned from The Mummy and the previous attempt to launch the Dark Universe. Instead of announcing an entire slate of interconnected horror movies, Abigail is currently just another standalone movie. Abigail, her Dracula-inspired father , and Joey are all left with uncertain futures as a result.

If a new Dark Universe does start, Abigail 's box office is likely the key. The movie was made on a budget of $28 million, meaning it needs to make nearly $60 million at the box office to break even for Universal. It would only be at that point that the studio would probably consider continuing the franchise, let alone expanding it into a Dark Universe reboot. Considering Abigail has not even made its budget back at the box office worldwide, it is far from guaranteed that audiences will get a chance to return to this universe and watch it grow.

Abigail (2024)
Horror Movies

How a Mission: Impossible Casting Choice Changed the Course of Marvel Movies Forever

A 'Mission: Impossible II' star was supposed to play a Marvel legend, but fate (and shooting schedules) intervened.

The Big Picture

Dougray Scott missed out on the role of Wolverine in X-Men due to Tom Cruise's refusal to let him film while still working on Mission: Impossible 2 .
Hugh Jackman's portrayal as Wolverine had a significant impact on the future of Marvel movies and the dominance of comic book adaptations in mainstream cinema.
The casting of Wolverine with Jackman instead of Scott played a pivotal role in shaping the film industry as we know it today.

The Marvel and Mission: Impossible movies are some of the most recognizable and long-running film franchises today. The Marvel movies, which include those from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as separate films made by 20th Century Fox and Sony, and the Tom Cruise -centered franchise famous for its life-or-death stunt choreography, show no signs of slowing down in financial viability or popularity. And bizarrely enough, at the dawn of the 21st century, these two franchises converged at a pivotal crossroads that altered the course of mainstream cinema for the foreseeable future.

Mission: Impossible II

IMF agent Ethan Hunt is sent to Sydney to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera".

Hugh Jackman Wasn't the First Choice for Wolverine

For Mission: Impossible 2 , the John Woo -directed sequel to the original 1996 film, Dougray Scott was cast as the lead villain pitted against Cruise's Ethan Hunt. For Scott, a relatively unknown Scottish actor who previously appeared in Deep Impact and Ever After , getting the chance to perform elaborate combat scenes and stunts with Cruise was a huge break. In the film, he played Sean Ambrose, a rogue IMF agent in possession of a deadly virus and its remedy. The plot machinations and action sequences of the sequel are as ridiculous as we'd expect — even for a Mission: Impossible film — but this doesn't affect the great fortune benefited to Scott by being billed second in a notable summer 2000 blockbuster.

Things continued to fall in Scott's favor when he was cast as Wolverine in the upcoming X-Men film that would be released just following Mission: Impossible II . Initially, director Bryan Singer wanted to cast Russell Crowe as the famous mutant. Crowe, who was scheduled for an Oscar-winning turn in Gladiator , turned it down, but he recommended his close friend, the then-unknown Hugh Jackman , to Singer. However, Singer decided to go with Scott , who, with supporting roles in two massive summer films, was on the cusp of emerging as a household name. Until, that is, the epitome of bad luck arrived knocking at the door. The Mission: Impossible franchise has a history of troubled productions , script rewrites, and behind-the-scenes accidents. The second installment was no different. Action set pieces were created before a script was finished , according to screenwriter Robert Towne . In 2020, female lead Thandiwe Newton opened up about her unpleasant experience working on the film, recalling that she was "scared" of Cruise and his domineering attitude. The creative positions of these films are also frequently in a state of flux. Early into production, Oliver Stone was attached to direct Mission: Impossible II .

Amid a tense set and Cruise's demand for practical stunts that put himself in harm's way (seen in the film's famous opening scene where Hunt is free solo climbing), Mission: Impossible II fell behind schedule. To literally add insult to injury, Scott was inflicted with a shoulder injury during a shooting, putting his availability for X-Men in question. Because this was such a substantial project for Fox, they couldn't afford to waste time. Scott's commitment to Mission: Impossible 2 and on-set injury forced Singer and the studio to re-cast Wolverine. Scott was out, Jackman was in, and the rest is history. The Australian actor's stardom would be launched because of the role, and his tenure as the mutant with razor-sharp claws would last 17 years, appearing in numerous X-Men films and off-shoots, including the highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine .

Tom Cruise Wouldn't Let Scott Leave 'Mission: Impossible II'

Recently, Scott sat down with The Daily Telegraph in 2020 and revealed that none other than Cruise denied him from appearing in X-Men . "You’ve got to stay and finish the film," Scott recounts Cruise telling him. Despite promising he would finish Mission: Impossible II , Cruise would not let him begin shooting X-Men , according to Scott. "He was a very powerful guy. Other people were doing everything to make it work." It's unfortunately then that Scott has become synonymous with being on the wrong end of a casting "what if?" Though, at least publicly, Scott seems magnanimous about the state of affairs, stating in the Daily Telegraph interview that he respects what Jackman accomplished as Wolverine. "He's a lovely guy," he said.

While Jackman would become universally adored as Wolverine, Scott's portrayal as the villain in perhaps the most derided Mission: Impossible film faded away into obscurity. The domino effect of Scott's commitment to the film on the future of Marvel movies and cinema at large is immeasurable. Singer's X-Men movies were a hit both financially and critically — proving that films adapted from Marvel Comics could be legitimate and crowd-pleasing, and Jackman's presence was integral to their fabric. His Wolverine was granted three separate standalone films , including the highly acclaimed revisionist take on the superhero, Logan .

Wolverine's Re-Casting Made Hugh Jackman a Massive Star

It's impossible to theorize how well Scott would have done in the role of Wolverine, but his ability to reach the same heights that Jackman achieved feels implausible. Who's to say that the X-Men films land with the public in the same way if Scott was ultimately cast? By the nature of the butterfly effect, this could have shaken up the core of mainstream cinema, which is today dominated by comic book adaptations.

And while everyone thought Logan was the perfect send-off to Jackman's Wolverine, Jackman will be returning to the screen as the famed mutant in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine . As for Scott, his career never soared to the heights that Jackman has reached. He was a recurring star in Season 3 of Desperate Housewives , portrayed Arthur Miller in My Week with Marilyn , and starred in Taken 3 in the aftermath of Mission: Impossible II . His near miss as Wolverine emphasizes the amount luck can play in a Hollywood career. Jackman's portrayal as Wolverine is widely celebrated, making the image of the comic book character inseparable from the actor.

In addition to an accomplished Broadway career in his repertoire, Jackman's life was drastically altered due to Scott's injury or Tom Cruise's stubbornness — whichever one may be true. Without a captivating performance of a fan-favorite character in the X-Men universe, maybe there is no Spider-Man trilogy from Sam Raimi or maybe Robert Downey Jr. never signs with Marvel and ostensibly launches the MCU . In an alternate universe, without Jackman as Wolverine, the entire film industry could be unrecognizable, for better or worse.

Mission: Impossible II is available to watch on Prime Video and Paramount+ in the U.S.

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