Yesterday we reported that The Mummy reboot was finally starting to emerge from its cinematic tomb with a new director, Alex Kurtzman, announced at the helm. Originally slated to come out in theaters on April 22nd, 2016, Universal Pictures has already revealed a new release date for the upcoming Mummy movie that will have fans waiting just a bit longer to see this monster in action.
Deadline reveals that The Mummy reboot will now hit cinemas on June 26th, 2016. Since the release has only been delayed by about two months, there shouldn't be any major holdbacks in production.
The reason for the move comes from another big Universal property that filled in the abandoned April 22nd slot: The Huntsman, the prequel to 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman that will be directed by Frank Darabont (showrunner on Season 1 of The Walking Dead, director of The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption), who also wrote the latest version of the screenplay based on original drafts by Craig Mazin and Evan Spiliotopoulos. The Huntsman will predate the events of the first film and further explore the intertwining characters of The Huntsman Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and Ravenna (Charlize Theron).
After going through two directors and collecting dust, Universal yesterday looked to Alex Kurtzman to helm The Mummy reboot. Kurtzman is already a producer on the project and has been a major contributor along with fellow producer Chris Morgan in planning out an interconnected cinematic environment with Universal’s classic monsters. Kurtzman and his writing collaborator Roberto Orci have worked on the script penned by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus). Universal’s decision to hire Kurtzman to helm The Mummy reboot (Kurtzman has directed one prior feature film, 2012′s People Like Us) was influenced by his involvement in mapping out the legendary character’s next film. In addition to this project, Kurtzman is also set to take on directing duties for Sony’s Venom, which does not have a release date at this time.
Universal’s plans to create a shared monster universe could mean that we’ll be seeing characters like Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, and other monsters in future films of their own. Universal’s upcoming Dracula Untold is likely not included in this forthcoming shared cinematic world, as The Mummy reboot has been announced as the first film in the new canon.
It’s also been revealed that the new Mummy film will take place in the present and won’t be a hardcore horror film, as it’s set to be an action-adventure film with horror sprinkled throughout, perhaps in a fashion similar to Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001). Both Len Wiseman (Total Recall remake, Underworld) and Andy Muschietti (Mama) had previously been attached to direct The Mummy reboot. We’ll keep Daily Dead readers posted on further updates with the new Mummy film.
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