Len Wiseman’s THE MUMMY Will Be Set in the Modern Day; Will Be “Epic”

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Len Wiseman’s THE MUMMY Will Be Set in the Modern Day; Will Be “Epic”
by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 14th, 2012 at 5:49 am



Earlier this year, we learned that Universal was rebooting The Mummy franchise with Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) to write the screenplay, and Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman on board to produce.  In September, director Len Wiseman (Total Recall) joined the project, and now he has provided some brief details on how his movie will differ from the recent Brendan Fraser flicks.  The character originally found popularity on the screen in 1932 when it was played by the legendary Boris Karloff.

Hit the jump for more.  The Mummy reboot is set for a possible 2014 release.

Speaking to Movieweb, Wiseman provided a brief description of what the new version of The Mummy would be:

    “It’s horror. Its epic. It’s more of a modern day version of what would happen if we came across a mummy in our world today. It is pretty fascinating.”

Oh no!  The Mummy is using the Internet!  Kill it! KILL IT WITH TECHNOLOGY!

I am curious to see how the Mummy functions in the modern day since it’s not like a vampire or a zombie.  Both of those creatures can function in the present since they have a viral aspect that allows them to propagate their species.  Mummification is fairly complicated process.

Wiseman didn’t definitively say that The Mummy will be his next movie, noting, “if The Mummy is to be the next movie for me, is that The Mummy is a completely different film. It is a modern day take. It doesn’t have anything to do with the Brendan Fraser films, and it is not a remake of any kind.”

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Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to Produce Reboots of THE MUMMY and VAN HELSING; Tom Cruise to Star in VAN HELSING
by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 1st, 2012 at 10:26 am
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Star Trek screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman recently signed an exclusive two-year producing deal with Universal Pictures.  The studio has now sent out a press release announcing that the duo will take on reboots of The Mummy and Van Helsing with Tom Cruise attached to co-produce and star in the latter.  Last month, we reported that Prometheus co-writer Jon Spaihts has been tapped to write the reboot of The Mummy.  As for Van Helsing, Cruise has been involved with the property since 2010, but at the time, the product went into stasis after Guillermo Del Toro declined to direct.  At the time, Cruise and Del Toro were set to team for At the Mountains of Madness, but Universal pulled the plug because they wouldn’t give Del Toro the budget and R-rating he wanted.

Hit the jump for the press release.  Orci and Kurtzman were recently hired to write the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man.  It’s important to note that the successful producing/screenwriting duo are currently not attached to write the scripts for either The Mummy or Van Helsing although they’ll obviously have major input.

Alex Kurtzman & Roberto OrciHere’s the press release:

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    UNIVERSAL CITY, CA, May 1, 2011—Universal Pictures today announced the studio has signed a two-year first-look production deal with one of the leading writing/producing teams in the entertainment industry, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and their K/O Paper Products banner. The duo will kick off their new relationship with Universal by reimagining titles from the studio’s library including Van Helsing and The Mummy. The announcement was made by Universal Pictures Chairman, Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman, Donna Langley.

    Kurtzman and Orci have collaborated with some of the industry’s top creative minds including J.J. Abrams, with whom they wrote the third installment of Mission: Impossible, which grossed nearly $400 million at the worldwide box office. In 2007, they wrote Transformers and went on to write Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in 2009. Together, those films grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide. More recently, the pair wrote and executive produced 2009’s Star Trek, which grossed more than $385 million worldwide. Accompanying their impressive film resume, Kurtzman and Orci have found tremendous success in television, having created the series Fringe, writing/producing Alias and in 2010, producing the reboot of Hawaii Five-O. They also currently executive produce the highest rated show on Hasbro’s The Hub, Transformers Prime.

    “Alex and Roberto are extraordinarily talented writers and producers who know the value of a great story in building successful tentpole films,” Fogelson and Langley said in a joint statement. “They have been a major part of some of Hollywood’s biggest movies and television shows in recent history, and we’re eager to have them build on that success at Universal.”

    “We’re thrilled to call Universal Pictures our home,” said Kurtzman and Orci. “From the moment we sat down with Adam, Donna, Peter, Jeff and the entire Uni team, there was an instant flow of inspired ideas. They really understand the importance of building a strong creative team and giving our shared projects their full support. We’re proud to start making movies that will live as part of Universal’s enduring legacy.”

    Kurtzman and Orci’s K/O Paper Products will develop and produce a modern reimagining of Universal library titles including The Mummy, alongside producer Sean Daniel and writer Jon Spaihts. The pair will also develop and produce Universal’s reimagined Van Helsing, with Tom Cruise attached to star in and produce the film.

    Kurtzman and Orci’s upcoming projects include writing Sony’s next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man; producing Now You See Me, for Lionsgate Summit, set for release in March 2013; and producing Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, also for Lionsgate Summit. Kurtzman and Orci wrote and produced People Like Us, which marks Kurtzman’s directorial debut and is scheduled to be released in June 2012, and wrote and produced the second installment of Star Trek, set for release in 2013. The pair most recently rewrote All You Need Is Kill for Warner Bros., with Tom Cruise attached to star, Doug Liman to direct and Erwin Stoff to produce.

    Kurtzman, Orci and the rest of their K/O Paper Products team, including President Bobby Cohen, will be housed on the Universal lot. Former assistants Ben Kim and Kim Cavyan will come aboard as creative executives. Kurtzman and Orci are represented by CAA and attorneys Michael Gendler and Kevin Kelly of Gendler & Kelly, APC

http://collider.com/mummy-van-helsing-reboot-tom-cruise-orci-kurtzman/163193/