The popularity of a shared universe is undeniable. Disney has their Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Warner Bros. has the DC Extended Universe. Both studios use comic book source materials to expand and grow their superhero franchises. This doesn’t leave much for other studios. But in the case for Universal, they have their classic monster movies at their disposal. So, in order to keep up with the competition, they are launching a shared Monsters universe, and it will all kick off with Alex Kurtzman‘s The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Star Trek Beyond)

The film’s first trailer dropped during Sunday night’s episode of The Walking Dead. Check it out here below.

Let’s face it, as long as these shared universe stories are popular, more and more studios will devise a way to create them. However, as long as the right people are hired, I think they could work. Sure there will be a few films that fail to meet our high expectations, but a shared universe involving those classic monsters could be interesting if done the right way. And so far, it looks like they are off to a great start.

It’s interesting to see that half of the trailer alone is dedicated to the plane sequence, which sees Tom Cruise go through the ringer as the aircraft begins its spiraling crash. We do get to hear a little bit from Russell Crowe‘s Dr. Jekyll character saying “Welcome to a new world of gods and monsters,” and asking Cruise’s character to cordially greet Princess Ahmanet (Boutella). Based on that, it seems as though Dr. Jekyll will be the Nick Fury of this franchise. But that is just speculation.

The film also stars Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, and Courtney B. Vance, and opens in theaters on June 9, 2017.

Here’s the official plot synopsis:

Image Gallery

[Images courtesy of Universal Pictures. Used with permission.]

Trailer

[Source: Universal Pictures YT]