“I felt insulted: the director of The Mummy was totally disrespected by Tom Cruise’s reboot of the film.

THE Universal monsters They have always had a special place in the prestigious catalog of the Universal studio. Jewels of cinematic heritage, they’ve also largely spawned a slew of remakes over the decades.

In the case of The Mummy, for example, we easily remember Stephen Somers’ wonderful remake that came out in 1999, starring the trio of Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah.

The film grossed more than $417 million at the time, which, adjusted for inflation, would be more than $786 million today. For a film that cost around $80 million to make, the adventure was very profitable for Universal. We will keep quiet about the next opus and other spin off variations…

“I felt insulted”

Last May, in connection with the film’s 25th anniversary, director Somers spoke at length The Hollywood Reporter, flipping through his memories, just like the first day. And in the process to get involved in the reboot of his film, which was released in 2017 and was directed by Tom Cruise. Directed by Alex Kurtzman, the film flopped at the box office.

In this interview, Somers claims that he has never been contacted about this new opus, even just for advice, as a courtesy. “I didn’t contact, in fact I felt insulted because I didn’t contact the writers or Alex Kurtzman, I contact people if I’m going to get someone’s case.

On the third film, directed by Robbie, he looked a bit like my baby. I didn’t want to step on his toes, so I helped produce it. But I had nothing to do with Tom Cruise. They never contacted me or called me. I was doing other things and not just sitting around crying. I think it’s common courtesy. “

A mummy that smells like formalin

So Universal executives set out in 2017 to explore The Mummy and its action flicks, headlined by Tom Cruise. But there was more. Since Dracula Untold in 2014, the studio has been toying with the idea of ​​having an expanded universe, but revised and tweaked in the style of Universal Monsters: a Dark Universe. This connected world of monsters has spawned many films, including Frankenstein’s Creature, The Invisible Man, Van Helsing and The Werewolf.

failure mummy The 2017 version changed all the cards. With Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll truly set in motion, The Mummy grossed “only” $409 million worldwide on a $125 million budget, not including at least $100 million of the film’s marketing budget. . It can also mean a slap in the face.

Four months later, Universal announced the release of a remake of Bride of Frankenstein, which was then in pre-production: “None of us want to move too quickly on a release date when this movie is special and we need time to improve it.” About this in the press release of the studio, quoted Deadline in Hollywood.

“We tried to intertwine our monsters and it failed”

The blow came in November 2017. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan, the main architects of this dark world, left the project after the failure of The Mummy. Thus, Chris Morgan returned to work on the Fast & Furious license, while Kurtzman immersed himself in the world of Star Trek: Discovery for TV.

“We tried to intertwine our monsters and it failed” Donna Langley, Universal’s chief executive, said clearly at the microphone The Hollywood Reporterin February 2020. “We realized that these characters are indelible for a reason, and the world certainly didn’t ask for a shared universe of classic monsters. So we went back and created a different approach: filmmaker first, budget second.” A final round of applause for the Dark World.