We heard earlier this year that Universal were planning to reboot The Mummy franchise with Prometheus writer Jon Spaihts in charge of the script. Now Deadline reports that Len Wiseman is being set to direct.
Wiseman directed the well-received Live Free or Die Hard in 2007 but his Total Recall remake recently got a bashing from critics, and was a flop in the US earning only $58 million. It’s a strange choice considering Wiseman is coming off a bit of a dud, but then again this is from the studio that brought us Battleship, so what do you expect?
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Cowboys & Aliens) are producing, and it will apparently be “a darker twist on the material”.
“We’re reaching into the deep roots of The Mummy, which at its beating heart is a horror movie and then an action movie, and putting it into a context that is real and emotional,” Kurtzman said.
“One of the things that interested me with this mummy is, he’s still in essence a man,” Wiseman said. “They haven’t turned his brain into a monster brain. He still has a personality and is very cunning and calculating. He’s a true character in any form, and in creature form, even if he is that staggering creature, it becomes more important that he’s a thinking, calculating person.”
Stephen Sommers and Rob Cohen were responsible for the most recent adaptation in the late 90s and early 2000s with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz leading. The three films earned over a billion dollars worldwide and spawned spin-off’s such as The Scorpion King and a few direct-to-DVD efforts.
Universal are aiming for a 2014 release for the reboot, so expect to hear more news over the upcoming months. Any bets as to whether Wiseman will give his wife Kate Beckinsale the female lead?
