10 Big 2017 Movies Destined To Flop
8. The Mummy
Hollywood is so desperate for dependable franchises they’re raiding classic monsters, with Univeral planning a cinematic universe based on Dracula, The Invisible Man, The Creature From The Black Lagoon and The Mummy. That latter movie will be the first test of this plan’s viability, with Tom Cruise playing a Tom Cruise-type character chasing after a resurrected queen intent on destroying the world.
Universal have already made it clear these movies will be action adventures and not horror flicks, so expect plenty of CGI destruction and Cruise frantically running towards things. The Mummy marks the directorial debut of Alex Kurtzman, the genius co-writer of Cowboys & Aliens, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen and Star Trek Into Darkness.
Russell Crowe will also have a small role as Dr Jekyll, which will presumably set up future appearances in this monster universe. Even at this early stage The Mummy has a whiff of bland corporate thinking to it, and short of a great marketing campaign it’s generating alarmingly little buzz.