Not only will Tom Cruise's character have to face off with the titular supernatural character in Universal's reboot of THE MUMMY, he'll also have a scuffle with Russell Crowe's character Dr. Henry Jekyll, a surprise that was given away in a behind-the-scenes featurette that was released in conjunction with the film's first trailer. Cruise and Crowe face each other down in a newly released image, which can be seen below.
Entertainment Weekly got the first look at this image, which was accompanied by some information on the film that was shared by director Alex Kurtzman. According to Kurtzman, THE MUMMY will feature "an origin story happening on two different fronts"… and that's all he'll reveal about it at this point. One of the origins would presumably be The Mummy's, but the second seems to have something to do with subverting the audience's expectations about Cruise's character, "amoral tough guy" Nick Morton.
Kurtzman said,
One of the things that I think has defined Tom Cruise movies, for 30 years, is that Tom Cruise always saves the day. You know whenever you’re in a Tom Cruise movie that he’s gonna figure out a way to save the day. And that’s great, and it’s why I pay my money to see his movies. However, in the context of a monster movie, it’s challenging, because monster movies are about characters who are often very out of control, and don’t know how to save the day. The first thing I said to Tom was, ‘It’ll be scarier if we can take away the fundamental knowledge that you’re gonna solve the problem.'"
As a fan of Cruise and his usual "save the day" movies, I'm very interested seeing how Kurtzman will be shaking up the heroic image.
Co-starring with Cruise and Crowe in THE MUMMY are Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari, and Javier Botet, with Sofia Boutella as The Mummy.
Written by Jon Spaihts, the film has the following synopsis:
Thought safely entombed in a crypt deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient queen 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.
The first entry in the Universal Monsters Cinematic Universe, which will include rebooted versions of all of the studio's classic monsters, THE MUMMY is set to be released on June 9, 2017.
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