The Mummy reboot: Universal plans Marvel-like shared cinematic universe - of monsters

Universal's The Mummy franchise hit rock bottom with its third film - Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor. But that doesn't mean fans and moviegoers are done with the subject. The Mummy (1999) was an absolute joyride and was followed by The Mummy Returns which also managed to entertain and engage the audience. Brendan Fraser's heroic character Rick O'Connell was all set to go the Indiana Jones way but sadly the franchise went downhill.

Now the studio is attempting a reboot with Alex Kurtzman (writer of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Cowboys & Aliens and Star Trek Into Darkness) directing. And this time around, they seem to be going the Marvel way by having a share of the cinematic universe of all monsters – it's Universal's very own Monsterverse.

Kurtzman recently spoke to Slash Film about being at the helm of this ambitious endeavour. "I feel really ready to go and Universal's been incredible about supporting our whole monster endeavour, so I feel like I'm going to have amazing people around me in order to help us launch it," Kurtzman said.

Since The Mummy will exist in a shared universe, Kurtzman says "we very well might" see another monster appear in it. Earlier rumours have suggested that the film will feature Luke Evan's Dracula from the 2014 film - Dracula Untold. When asked about this, Kurtzman replied, "The Mummy isn't connected to Dracula [Untold] but I think that is an ongoing conversation."

The writer/director also teased the film's setting and explained how the reboot will differ from the original film series. "...The minute it's modern day, the rules change," he stated. "And yet, what's really exciting for me is how do you take this ancient creature and make an audience believe that they exist in modern day?" The Mummy reboot is scheduled for release on 24 March 2017.