The Mummy (2017)
Director: Alex Kurtzman
Writers: David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, Dylan Kussman
Cast: Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Russell Crowe
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 107 Minutes
Release Date: June 9, 2017

“Welcome to a new world of gods and monsters.”

If you’re a moviegoer in the year 2017, odds are you’re familiar with the concept of a “shared cinematic universe.” Whether it’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s The Avengers or the DC Extended Universe’s upcoming Justice League, we understand that these franchises are built on standalone stories set within the same continuity, leading to crossover events and team-up films.

The idea of a shared cinematic universe came into being over 70 years ago with the emergence of Universal Monsters. Following their popular silent films, 1923’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame and 1925’s The Phantom of the Opera, Universal Studios began developing talkies based on other classic horror characters. 1931’s Dracula and Frankenstein got things started, followed by The Mummy (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein, and The Wolf Man (1941).

Later this week the first movie in Universal’s shared Dark Universe franchise kicks off with The Mummy. Tom Cruise stars in the movie, but it’s not the only thing you’ll see him in this year. Releasing this fall is another Universal title starring Cruise, American Made.

In the movie Cruise plays a pilot who partakes in work of questionable legality, which leads to him being recruited by much bigger and more powerful employers. If a Top Gun 2 wasn’t already in the works, you could picture this as a sequel mixed with a bit of Blow starring Johnny Depp, who’s also part of Universal’s Dark Universe as The Invisible Man. The movie is directed by Doug Liman, who worked with Cruise on Edge of Tomorrow. And like Blow, it’s based on a true story.

Universal has released an official trailer for American Made, and you can read more about it and see the trailer and a poster below.

This weekend, Universal will launch the start of their brand new Dark Universe monsters franchise with a reboot of The Mummy. Directed by Alex Kurtzman, the film will bring together some of our favorite classic monsters in an all new shared universe involving Universal Monsters. It will be followed up by the Bill Condon-directed Bride of Frankenstein, starring Javier Bardem; Creature of the Black Lagoon from screenwriters Jeff Pinkner and Will Beall; The Invisible Man, starring Johnny Depp; and Van Helsing, from Prometheus scribe Jon Spaihts, Arrival writer Eric Heisserer, and Dan Mazeau.

But that is just the beginning. Because Kurtzman says there are more Dark Universe films on the way. In a new interview, the man responsible for building this new Universal Monsters shared universe says Dracula, Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Phantom of the Opera are being developed. More on the story below.

A sequel to Top Gun has been whispered about for years now, with nothing ever coming of it. After the death of original director Tony Scott, the project was put on the shelf. But according to star Tom Cruise, that’s all about to change.

Cruise recently said that Top Gun 2, now over 30 years since after first movie’s release, is in fact happening. Not only that but he, believe it or not, expects it to begin filming within a year. Now comes news that might support Cruise’s words. It’s being reported that Joseph Kosinski, who directed Cruise in Oblivion, is the frontrunner to helm the sequel.

Shared universes can be a tough sell nowadays, especially now since they can be perceived as derivative. However, if a studio puts the right creative minds together, these shared universes can be very successful.

Universal Pictures will take their first steps into launching their own starting with a reboot of The Mummy. And they are confident enough in their monsters filled universe that they have announced that the series of films reviving the studio’s classic characters for a new generation will be known as their “Dark Universe.” More on the story below.