The Mummy will serve as the starting point for Universal’s relaunch of its monster film universe, with Alex Kurtzman (co-writer of Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness) and Fast & Furious writer/producer Chris Morgan working together as the architects for the studio’s rebooted monster cinematic universe. Kurtzman is also directing this new Mummy series installment based on a screenplay by Jon Spaihts (co-writer of Prometheus and the upcoming Doctor Strange); and most recently, Tom Cruise reportedly entered negations to play the (non-mummy) lead in the film.
Reports are now in, stating that Cruise has closed his deal to headline Universal’s Mummy film reboot as (supposedly) an ex-Navy SEAL, with Kingsman: The Secret Service‘s Sofia Boutella onboard to play the eponymous monster. Production on the project is still expected to begin early this spring, though Universal has now shifted The Mummy‘s release date – clearly, in response to moves that other studios have made with the release dates for their own 2017 tentpoles.
Variety is reporting that Universal has moved The Mummy from March 24th, 2017 to June 9th of that same year, now that Cruise is “officially” signed on. The move comes on the heels of Disney/Lucasfilm having moved Star Wars: Episode VIII away from late May to December of the same year (with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales now in Episode VIII‘s former spot); in addition, Paramount has dropped the Terminator: Genisys sequel from its official release docket, which has likewise reduced the competition that The Mummy will face in early June 2017. The Divergent Series: Ascendent and World War Z 2 are currently scheduled to arrive on the same date as The Mummy – but since the WWZ sequel only just lost its director (at the time of writing this) odds are it will ultimately be delayed from its current date.
