It doesn’t look like Universal is completely banking on the appeal of classic monsters to put bums on seats for its new horror-powered shared cinematic universe. The studio is going after some star wattage, with Tom Cruise in talks to lead The Mummy.
Actual plot details on the film remain locked in a pyramid for now, but Jon Spaihts has been at work on a script that finds the Mummy’s curse once again stalking the streets, this time in the present day. And while there’s no word on what role Cruise is eyeing, but according to Variety, he’s interested in helping to shape the film, but probably won’t produce the way he does the Mission: Impossible movies.
That would mean working with Alex Kurtzman and Fast & Furious regular writer Chris Morgan, who are overseeing this knitting together of Universal creature feature staples such as The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and the Wolfman into a series of movies that blend characters the way Marvel’s successful run has been doing. Cruise could conceivably be one of the lynchpins, becoming the Iron Man of this particular set of planned films. He would be a big name to add to the mix, and it appears part of the strategy for the monster team, with recent reports that part of the reason Universal stumped up the cash to make Angelina Jolie Pitt’s By The Sea was part of the effort to convince her to play the Bride of Frankenstein in one of the other entries.
The concept is a huge gamble for Universal, so it’s not perhaps surprising that the team is looking for some big guns to help the films kick off successfully. We’ll find out whether Cruise actually signs on soon enough, but it’s looking likely, especially since there is a gap in the actor’s schedule after he finishes Jack Reacher 2 and before he reports for duty on the next Mission. That’s thanks to Doug Liman, who had been looking to work again with Cruise on sci-fi tale Luna Park, but is now turning his attention to directing Gambit for Fox. Jack Reacher 2, incidentally, will be out in the UK on October 21 next year. The new Mummy is eyeing a March 2017 release.