We heard that Universal had intentions to reboot The Mummy franchise last month, and now the studio has issued a press release announcing that Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (writers of Star Trek and Transformers 2) will be developing and producing the “modern reimagining”.

The press release also announces they’ll be involved with a reboot of Van Helsing (remember the Hugh Jackman movie from 2004?) and Tom Cruise is attached to star in and produce the film.

Here’s the full statement:

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.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have been hit and miss with their movies. For every success like Star Trek there are less successful ones such as Cowboys and Aliens and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. On top of developing The Mummy and Van Helsing the duo are also writing the script for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and producing Ender’s Game, so they’re going to be pretty busy.

Read similar posts to Kurtzman and Orci to team with Universal for Van Helsing and The Mummy on Filmonic

Step aside, Brendan Fraser – Universal is giving The Mummy films a makeover. The studio has committed to bring the franchise back to its scary roots and hired Prometheus writer Jon Spaihts to write the reboot. More after the jump.

Variety has the news, and a quote from Spaihts about working on this project:

I see it as the sort of opportunity I had with ‘Prometheus’: to go back to a franchise’s roots in dark, scary source material, and simultaneously open it up to an epic scale we haven’t seen before.

I’m conflicted here: I don’t particularly care for this new trend of rebooting franchises that are only around ten years old, because everyone clearly still remembers the earlier version. But if you’re going to reboot it, I think taking it in an entirely different direction is the way to go, so I applaud Universal for that. As cheesy as it is, I actually really liked The Mummy from 1999, but I think Spaihts is a good choice to separate this new incarnation from the pulpy adventure of the Fraser films.

Stephen Sommers and Rob Cohen brought back the classic Universal mummy in film adaptations in the late 90s and early 2000s, and those three films have earned over a billion dollars worldwide. What do you think about a Mummy reboot?

Read similar posts to Universal rebooting The Mummy franchise with Prometheus writer on Filmonic

Actress Maria Bello spoke to MTV about The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. She is playing the role of Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell, who was played by Rachel Weisz in the previous films.

“I think Rachel is so brilliant, and she was beautiful in that part, but they wrote my character so differently, I felt like it was a totally different woman,” Bello said. “She has the same name, but she’s quite a different character.”

“In the beginning of the movie I do a sword fight with an invisible mummy,” Bello said. “I had to be on wires and do sword work. It took days to do, and it was so much fun. I would do flips on the wire and I’d land down and be like a little kid.”

I don’t really like re-casting roles, it doesn’t look the same. (Duh!) But I can understand why Rachel decided not to rejoin Brendan Fraser for more Mummy adventures. I mean if you win an Oscar you don’t want to go back to some popcorn movies you did 5 years ago. You want to look forward to the future and do more Oscar worthy movies like The Lovely Bones with Peter Jackson. But Rachel’s departure didn’t stop the franchise, in fact its actually gaining steam, as Maria Bello tells us.

Bello admits to having so much fun, in fact, that she’s looking forward to three more “Mummy” movies, confessing that she’s already signed on for a whole trilogy of sequels.

“I don’t know when, but it’s going,” she said. “[There will] absolutely be ‘The Mummy 4.’ “

And when there is, Bello says she’s already got an idea for where it can film.

“Something that takes place in the Amazon,” Bello suggested.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor will be on the big screen in August.

Read similar posts to After The Mummy 3, Get Ready For 4 and 5! on Filmonic