It looks like Universal is ready to resurrect its world famous monsters on the big screen. And according to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is bringing in a big gun with writer-producer Alex Kurtzman spearheading the the resurrection.
Kurtzman is behind some of Hollywood's biggest hits of the last decade, including "Star Trek Into Darkness," "Transformers" and "The Amazing Spider-Man." Kurtzman is now in the final stages of negotiations to direct Universal's reboot of "The Mummy."
Kurtzman is already producing the film with Chris Morgan, and they are looking to give the legendary monster movies a whole new look. "The Mummy" will be released by Universal on April 22, 2016, so the production will have to be getting underway very soon to meet its release date.
The studio is not looking to do a period piece "Mummy" but rather will set the film in the present. The film will be the flagship for the rest of the Universal monster movies, so there is a lot riding on this reboot.
"Over the course of developing The Mummy, Alex has demonstrated such clarity and passion about this character and mythology. He 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," co-president of production Jeff Kirschenbaum told The Hollywood Reporter.
While the studio is keeping the plot close to the vest, one thing is clear, the days of Brendan Fraser's "Mummy" series are over. "Prometheus" writer Jon Spaihts has finished the script with the help of Kurtzman and longtime partner Roberto Orci. In the vein of the superhero universe, the studio is looking to orchestrate a long term plan for its core monsters.
Kurtzman made his directorial debut with the low budget drama "People Like Us," which starred Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks. "The Mummy" project will be a considerable bump up in budget, but Kurtzman has proven himself in every area of film production.
