The Mummy

Tom Cruise’s The Mummy is the beginning of a new Dark Universe for Universal Studios, and as such is tasked with connecting this film to a bunch of other ones in the franchise. The Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Bride of Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, and a bunch of others will soon be hitting the big screen, all under the Dark Universe umbrella. So, what fits them all together? The plot device — I mean, the Prodigium, of course.

Tom Cruise is an analog man in a digital world. A master showman, he seems to understand better than almost all of his peers that no amount of computer-generated imagery can replace the simple thrill an audience gets seeing a real person do something incredible. For over 100 years, this has been one of the fundamental appeals of cinema: Watching an actor perform an impossible (and sometimes stupidly dangerous) physical act. There is no length Cruise won’t go to for our entertainment. Even when his movies are bad, Cruise still gives 110 percent, still provides at least a few mind-boggling stunts to enjoy.

Bram Stoker is famous as the creator of Dracula in his 1897 novel. But did you know that Stoker also wrote a novel that became the basis for a movie about the Mummy? It’s true; Stoker’s The Jewel of Seven Stars, became the basis for the 1971 Hammer horror movie Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb. That’s just one of the spookily scarifying facts featured in the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies!

We’re less than a week away from Universal’s latest attempt to launch a Dark Universe, and fans are still uncertain as to what’s in store for their favorite iconic horror characters. With stars like Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe on board, will The Mummy be more action-packed than horrific? Does Cruise have another hit franchise on his hands  —  to go along with the Mission: Impossible and Jack Reacher films  —  or will fans wish that this particular mummy had remained dead?

Universal’s Dark Universe is kicking off with Tom Cruise’s The Mummy, which is only a week away(!!!). While we know that this movie will, indeed, feature a mummy who is hunting down Tom Cruise for some reason (I mean, weren’t we all, at some point in our lives?) a few things still remain a mystery. What is Russell Crowe’s Dr. Jekyll’s role in all this? How did Cruise and his team of archaeologists stumble upon the mummy’s tomb anyway? And why does she want Tom Cruise so badly?

Universal was initially taking more of a “wait and see” approach to their burgeoning monster movie franchise, but that changed last week when the studio formally announced plans to kick things into high gear. The newly-dubbed and somewhat ambitious “Dark Universe” (not to be confused with Warner Bros.’ long-developing DC film) will feature long-rumored reboots like Bride of Frankenstein and The Wolfman, and rumor has it Universal is eyeing another one of their franchise super-stars to take the lead in the latter.

Aside from the unceasing public scrutiny, being an A-list actor doesn’t seem so bad. You get paid obscene amounts of money, meet interesting people, and get to travel all across this green Earth in the name of work. And today, you can share in that last part with none other than professional shirtless runner Tom Cruise! Universal will unwrap The Mummy a week from this Friday, and to further stoke excitement for the launch of their new, hilariously-named Dark Universe, the studio has unveiled a video featurette in which star Cruise brings the viewer on a tour of the far-flung locations on which the film was shot.

Tom Cruise’s The Mummy is about to hit theaters and launch a new cinematic universe, which, arguably, was the first cinematic universe ever, according to Mummy director Alex Kurtzman in a new featurette. Universal seems pretty optimistic about the quality of The Mummy (or they wouldn’t have announced this whole shared universe thing just yet), which makes us hopeful too. And, come on, Tom Cruise has been in, like, maybe two truly terrible movies throughout his career.

Universal is going dark.

“Witness the beginning of a dark universe!” The new trailer for The Mummy is going all-in on this Universal Monsters cinematic universe idea. (And also throwing shade at Dracula Untold. Wasn’t that the beginning of this thing? Poor Luke Evans.)