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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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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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Is there going to be a The Mummy 2 starring Tom Cruise?

The Mummy starring Tom Cruise has found a new lease on life since its recent addition to Netflix's ever-expanding library. The 2017 action-adventure horror movie, a bold reboot of the original series with Brendon Fraser, introduced us to Nick Morton, portrayed by Tom Cruise, a daring treasure-hunting soldier who unwittingly awakens the vengeful ancient Egyptian princess, Ahmanet, played by the talented Sofia Boutella. The official synopsis for the movie, as per IMDb , reads:

"An ancient Egyptian princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension."

As the film now enjoys a new surge in viewership on Netflix, fans and newcomers alike are left wondering: Is there a sequel in the works?

Whether you're a fan of the film, a newcomer considering a watch, or simply curious about the potential for a sequel, you're in the right place! Join us as we unveil all the details you need to know about the possibility of The Mummy 2 with Tom Cruise below!

According to reports , The Mummy starring Tom Cruise was initially envisioned as the kickoff to a grand shared universe of classic movie monsters, which would have included iconic characters like Frankenstein and Dracula. Unfortunately, the film fell short of critical acclaim and box office success, ultimately leading to the cancellation of the entire project.

So at this present time, it's unlikely we will ever get The Mummy 2 starring Tom Cruise.

Despite this, The Mummy franchise boasts a dedicated and passionate fan base, particularly for the originals with Brendan Fraser. With the film's resurgence on Netflix, there's renewed interest in the series, sparking hopes for its revival. This could be the perfect moment to breathe new life into the franchise with a fresh ensemble of actors.

While it's currently just a dream, there's a collective desire to see the original cast return in some capacity to pass the torch to a new generation of adventurous archaeologists. The fate of The Mummy franchise remains uncertain, but only time will reveal whether it will rise from the crypt once more!

Screen Rant

Tom cruise’s the mummy failure: 8 reasons why dark universe failed before it began.

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The Universal Dark Universe And 9 Other Abandoned Movie Franchises

Horizon movie update makes us feel better about kevin costner choosing his new western over yellowstone, i really hope this story about kurt russell's tombstone cameo plan for kevin costner is true.

• The marketing for 2017's The Mummy was misleading and featured unimportant details, leading viewers to have false expectations.
• Tom Cruise's involvement in the film was wasted as his character lacked substance and did not showcase his talents.
• The characters in The Mummy were poorly developed, making it difficult for the audience to root for them and invest in their story.

2017's reboot of The Mummy was meant to launch a new franchise for Universal called the Dark Universe, but it failed for several reasons and was ultimately scrapped. That came as a huge shock, especially with megastar Tom Cruise in the lead role, fellow A-lister Russell Crowe on board, and a talented supporting cast including Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, and Marwan Kenzari. On paper, Dark Universe looked like a guaranteed success.

The reality just goes to show that, even with a massive budget and big names attached, movies can bomb if the other essential ingredients aren't right — and Cruise's The Mummy remake had so many fundamental ingredients missing that it was hard to ignore them all. Looking at the film objectively, it's easy to see why fans and critics panned it, as well as why the proposed franchise it was a platform for didn't progress. It may even be one of the most disappointing films of the 21st century, especially since it led to the Dark Universe concept being axed.

People mourn The Universal Dark Universe and what it could have been, but it is not the only abandoned movie franchise around.

8 The Mummy's Marketing Was Poor

Posters, billboards, and trailers featured unimportant details.

The marketing for 2017's The Mummy was fairly uninspired and substandard in general, but there was one particularly irksome aspect of it. Whether it was a poster, a billboard, or a trailer, it all seemed to feature the eponymous Princess Ahmanet's eyes, each of which had an extra pupil. It suggested they were important and might grant her a mystical ability, but they turned out to be entirely inconsequential. Viewers were never given a chance to see what these intriguing eyes offered. She may as well have had completely normal eyes. The marketing was terribly misleading in that regard .

7 The Mummy Wastes Tom Cruise

The lead should have guaranteed its success.

Cruise an iconic and exceptional actor. Cruise has received three Academy Award acting nominations for Born on the Fourth of July , Jerry Maguire , and Magnolia . Although he's failed to win, that takes some talent. Sadly, The Mummy completely wastes his involvement by having play a paper-thin character with very little substance . He gets little to no opportunity to showcase his charm, and his talents dissolve into an almost perpetual whirlwind of generic action. Considering The Mummy is a Cruise vehicle with the superstar at the wheel, the actor may as well have taken the keys out of the ignition.

6 The Mummy Has Poor Characters

The characters are hard to root for.

Despite having the name of the monster in their titles, monster movies rely on great characters to succeed. Jaws , for instance, would be nothing without the palpable chemistry between Roy Scheider's Martin Brody, Robert Shaw's Quint, and Richard Dreyfuss' Matt Hooper. Likewise, Alien and Predator wouldn't be anywhere near as iconic without Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch and their memorable co-stars. A major problem in The Mummy is poor characters. If Cruise's Nick Morton is paper-thin, the supporting characters are microscopic. They're underdeveloped and neither interesting nor likable. It's actually difficult to want them to come out of the movie victorious .

5 Unfavorable Comparisons To Previous Versions

The mummy couldn't live up to its predecessors.

Any reboot, remake, or sequel risks being compared unfavorably to its predecessors, and 2017's The Mummy always had a tough road ahead in that regard. The classic Universal series starring the likes of Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. and even the horror comedy Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy are widely revered. Plus, 1999's The Mummy and its first sequel, 2001's The Mummy Returns , are beloved adventure films. The 2017 reboot doesn't live up to them in any way . It lacks the memorable characters, the scares, the humor, and everything you should want in a Mummy franchise film. In that sense, it was doomed from the start.

4 The Mummy Has Too Much Action

The action overshadows everything else.

In a movie like The Mummy , action is obviously essential. Without any action, the film would be unspeakably boring — more so than it already is — because there'd be no sense of urgency or peril. However, 2017's reboot of The Mummy goes way too overboard with its action . It feels like director Alex Kurtzman believes fans are only entertained by action scenes, so it barely slows down at any point during the film's run. Eventually, that makes the action seem dull. However, it also takes away from several other aspects of the story, like character development, suspense, dialogue, and scares.

3 Its Comedy Is Weird And Misplaced

Tom cruise tries too hard and too often.

Cruise has proven many times that he has perfectly passable comedy chops. 1983's Losin' It and Risky Business , 1988's Cocktail , 2008's Tropic Thunder , 2010's Knight and Day , and 2017's American Made are just some movies in which Cruise has shown his funny side. However, in The Mummy , on the few occasions he engages in dialogue, he tries too hard to be funny and does it too often . It doesn't work out — not just because The Mummy isn't a comedy but because the rest of the cast are playing darker or more serious characters and aren't remotely on the same page. It's misplaced and falls completely flat.

2 The Dark Universe Is Forced And Rushed

Henry jekyll should have been introduced later.

The Mummy was intended to be the opening installment in a franchise, Universal's Dark Universe. Everyone understood that, but it didn't need to be forced down audience's throats or feel rushed and contrived. To use a common phrase to describe it: it's a marathon, not a sprint. It was, therefore, deeply unnecessary for Russell Crowe's Henry Jekyll to be shoehorned into the movie as the Dark Universe's version of Nick Fury. It was even less necessary to see his transformation into Eddie Hyde, which could have been a big reveal at a later time. All it did was take away from The Mummy as a standalone entity.

1 The Mummy Isn't Scary

The titular creature just wasn't scary.

Arguably, the most crucial factor in The Mummy's failure — and its unfortunate failure to launch the Dark Universe — is that it simply isn't scary. A Mummy movie doesn't necessarily have to be scary. Indeed, the beloved Mummy movies starring Brendan Fraser weren't for the most part. However, when it's meant to be the platform from which a franchise called the Dark Universe is born, it should feature some classic and appropriately scary cinematic monsters . The movie promised a lot, but it lacked suspense, scares, and an eponymous antagonist who's remotely frightening. Ahmanet offers nothing in terms of scares at any point in 2017's The Mummy — and that's a real shame.

• The Mummy (2017)

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The Mummy director felt 'insulted' when team behind Tom Cruise reboot didn't reach out

The mummy, released in 1999 recently clocked 25 years of release. in 2017, a reboot to the brendan fraser-rachel weisz starrer also released in cinemas..

Stephen Sommers is known for starting a new cinematic trend with his action-adventure horror comedy film, The Mummy. The movie's success led to several spin-offs and prequels. However, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stephen revealed that he felt insulted when the makers of the Tom Cruise reboot did not approach him. (Also read: The Mummy movie review: Dead, decaying, badly bandaged. The worst Tom Cruise film ever )

Stephen Sommers felt insulted by The Mummy reboot

When quizzed whether he was consulted for the 2017 action-adventure titled - The Mummy, the filmmaker said, “No. Actually, I was kind of insulted because the writers and director (Alex Kurtzman) of that Tom Cruise one, no one ever contacted me. I contact people if I was going to take over somebody’s thing. The third one, which Rob (Cohen) directed, it’s kind of my baby. I didn’t want to step on his toes, so I helped produce it. But I had nothing to do with the Tom Cruise one. They never contacted me or called me. I was doing other things, and it’s not like I sat crying. I just think it’s common courtesy.”

About The Mummy

The Mummy released in 1999 was based on the 1932 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed by Karl Freund. Stephen's horror film was set in the backdrop of the mummies of the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt. Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz played pivotal roles in the movie. In its sequel, The Mummy Returns (2001), Dwayne Johnson also played a crucial character. He also essayed the titular role in the spinoff-prequel The Scorpion King.

About Stephen Sommers

Stephen made his directorial debut with the American action-comedy Catch Me If You Can (1989), featuring Matt Lattanzi and Loryn Locklin. He also directed the 1994 American live-action-adventure The Jungle Book starring Jason Scott Lee based on Rudyard Kipling's novel. His last directorial feature was the 2013 mystery-thriller Odd Thomas.

The Mummy (2017) was directed by Alex Kurtzman and apart from Tom, also starred Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, and Russell Crowe. 

Dedicated professionals who write about cinema and television in all their vibrancy. Expect views, reviews and news. ...view detail

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