Update: Contrary to today’s report, Deadline has relayed a statement from Universal which reveals that Tom Cruise isn’t involved in the studio’s Mummy reboot.
“Both Universal and the star’s people tell Deadline adamantly that no deal with Cruise is in the works for the film,” reports Deadline. “He is currently filming Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. Mission: Impossible 6 begins shooting next August.”
Original Story: According to Variety, Universal has found a star for their upcoming reboot of The Mummy in the form of Tom Cruise. The actor is currently in talks to lead the film, which is being penned by Prometheus scribe Jon Spaihts and is one of several movies that will help launch the studio’s new franchise of monster flicks.
As we already know, writers Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan are hard at work on creating a cinematic universe for Universal, which will feature iconic characters like Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Mummy and more. The plan is to eventually build to a team-up film in the style of The Avengers, but that’s obviously a long ways away.
In a recent interview, the writers explained their plan as the following:
“This is not a heightened world,” Morgan says. “We’re exploring issues of family identity and questions of, ‘Where do I belong in the world?’ ”
“We’re creating a mythology, so we’re looking at this canon and thinking, ‘What are the rules?’ ” Kurtzman added. “What can we break and what are the ones that are untouchable? The idea is that we have a deep bench of brains to consult with about how their monster fits into our world as we go forward.”
No word yet on how this particular reboot with factor into everything, but it’s rumored that the plot will be set in the present day and that Cruise’s character will be a major one. Not only will he appear in The Mummy, but also in several other Universal monster films, so it’s a pretty big commitment for the actor.
The studio hasn’t confirmed the casting just yet, but apparently talks are going down and Cruise is expected to sign on soon. Apparently, the actor chose this film over the Shining prequel, Overlook, and also had his eye on Doug Liman’s Luna Park at one point. However, with Liman directing Gambit now and Cruise having an interest in monster films, he eventually landed on The Mummy.
We’ll keep you posted when we hear more, but for now, tell us, are you interested in seeing Tom Cruise enter Universal’s monster universe?