Along with directing Sony’s Amazing Spider-man spin-off property Venom, Alex Kurtzman (who has served as screenwriter on numerous recent blockbusters) could also be taking the helm for Universal’s reboot of The Mummy. He is reportedly in final negotiations for directing the project which so far he has been developing on as a writer.
Along with Fast Five scribe Chris Morgan, Kurtzman has been working on establishing a shared cinematic continuity for Universal’s classic movie monsters (The Wolf Man, Frankenstein etc). The Mummy reboot, currently slated for April 2016, would be the first instalment, launching the new franchise.
Much like Marvel’s cinematic universe, the monster movies being masterminded by Kurtzman and Morgan would all weave together, with characters moving between films. Plot details are unknown at the time, however it has been stated that the new film we be set in the modern day, unlike the most recent Mummy films starring Brendan Fraser. It will also feature new characters and have an action-adventure feel rather than a more straightforward horror tone.
According to Universal co-president Jeff Kirschenbaum, Kurtzman was chosen for the project when, over the course of developing The Mummy, it became clear that he possessed “clarity and passion about this character and mythology”. Kirschenbaum also added that “He (Kurtzman) knows why The Mummy has fascinated us for so long and how to bring that into an inventive, incredible new adventure. It became obvious that he is the perfect choice to be not only one of the narrative engineers of this new vision but its director as well.”
