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.

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Following the success of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol with universal critical praise and $690 million worldwide, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman last month confirmed a fifth Mission Impossible movie would be moving forward.

In a new interview director Brad Bird, who also directed The Incredibles and Ratatouille for Pixar, said he wasn’t sure if he’d return to direct the next film as the franchise director switching has created “four distinctly different movies”, but he hasn’t ruled it out entirely.

From Crave Online:

No, I think that one of the things that’s fun about the series is that they always pull in a different director and try to get a different kind of take on the premise. I’d probably be open to looking at it, but I think that part of one of the successes of the franchises is that they’re always reassessing it with a new director. That was one of the things that attracted me to it. It’s not a franchise where it was about dismissing your style in order to get the style of the franchise. It was more about [having] each director influence the franchise. Because whatever you think about the Mission: Impossible films, they don’t look like they were made by the same person. They’re the same premise and the same lead actor and all of that, but they feel like four distinctly different movies, style-wise.

Obviously Tom Cruise will be back, and we can assume that some of the supporting players (Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and Simon Pegg) may be involved. So far no writers have been hired to write the script, so it’ll probably be a while before we hear anything about the next director.

Are you ready for another mission?

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There’s a brand new trailer out for Adam Shankman’s 80s hair metal musical Rock of Ages, and this one gives us the first opportunity to hear Tom Cruise belt some Bon Jovi as legendary rocker Stacee Jaxx. He stars opposite Alec Baldwin, Paul Giamatti, Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and a host of other people, but the main story follows a Sunset Strip romance between Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta. Check out the new trailer after the jump, and let us know if you think Cruise has got the pipes to make this a memorable role in the comments.

I’ve gotta admit, as cheesy as musicals are (in a general sense), there’s something really appealing about this one. Personally, I’m a huge fan of 80s hair bands, classic rock, Journey, Def Leppard, and basically all of the music that will be featured in this entire movie. And while I won’t go as far as to say this film looks like it was made for people who hate musicals (it still has some super cheesy elements to it), there’s a good chance that the rock songs and A-list cast could pull in some otherwise-unwilling people into theaters when this one drops on June 1st. What do you think about the trailer? Are you going to see the movie?

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Looks like Melissa Leo is capitalizing on her Oscar fame to get some more high profile roles. The Best Supporting Actress winner for The Fighter has just signed on to star in Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion opposite Tom Cruise.

In case you’re just joining us, Oblivion is set “in a future where the Earth’s surface has been irradiated beyond recognition and the remnants of humanity live above the clouds, safe from the brutal alien Scavengers that stalk the ruins. But when surface drone repairman Jak discovers a mysterious woman in a crash-landed pod, it sets off an unstoppable chain of events that will force him to question everything he knows.”

Deadline has the report, but they’re not quite sure which role Leo will play in the futuristic thriller. Leo joins a strong cast that also includes Jessica Chastain, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, and “Game of Thrones” star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. It’s fitting that Leo won the Oscar for The Fighter, since both she and co-star Christian Bale are two of the most versatile actors working in the business today. Seriously – if you haven’t seen much of her work yet, give it a shot.

Kosinski is coming off a visual success with TRON: Legacy, and this script is based on a 2009 comic he produced for Radical Publishing. The Departed screenwriter William Monahan wrote a draft of the script, and both Karl Gajdusek and Michael Arndt rewrote the film before it went before the cameras. Production just started, and Oblivion hits theaters on April 26th, 2013.

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Big news from Paramount today, as the studio announced a shakeup of some upcoming release dates. Brad Pitt’s highly anticipated World War Z was once set for a release on December 21st, 2012, but it’s been pushed back to next summer – June 21, 2013, to be exact – while Tom Cruise’s One Shot is sliding from a February 2013 release into the newly-available December 21st, 2012 spot. Cruise performed well in that release slot last year with Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol doing gangbusters at the box office. Looks like WWZ is getting the shaft in this situation, moving to the always-more-competitive summer for blockbusters.

Also, the studio has set Jonathan Leibesman’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles adaptation for release on December 25th, 2013. (Think they’re doing that solely to coincide with the onslaught of toys for Christmas?) Either way, that movie reportedly has a budget of $100 million and will be a mixture of CGI and live-action.

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Beyonce has already locked down a starring role in director Clint Eastwood’s remake of the 1954 Judy Garland classic, but the male lead has been a mystery up until now. Variety reports that Warner Bros. is in early discussions with Tom Cruise to join the cast.

Cruise recently wrapped production on Rock of Ages, in which he plays a 1980s hair metal singer in the vein of Axl Rose, so he’s not completely out of line when it comes to a musical performance. He’s getting back to what he’s good at though, as his next two projects are TRON: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski’s upcoming untitled sci-fi epic for Universal and The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman’s action flick All You Need is Kill. Personally, I think the guy is born to star in action movies.

Still, working with a living legend like Clint Eastwood would be nice to check off Cruise’s bucket list, and it certainly would be intriguing to see how the trio of Eastwood, Cruise, and Beyonce – three of the most different people I can think of in the industry – would work together to bring us something coherent. No deals have been signed yet, so we’ll keep you posted with updates as they come in.

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“Oh, yes” was the response from Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman when asked if there’d be a fifth Mission Impossible movie. Dauman confirmed the news while speaking at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, and it was to be expected given that Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol made $680 million around the world.

THR says it’s not clear who will return for the next film, both in front and behind the camera. Director Brad Bird isn’t signed to return, and neither are screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec. Obviously Tom Cruise will be back, and we can assume that some of the supporting players (Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and Simon Pegg) may be involved.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol took the franchise to new commercial and critical heights, so a 5th film will have a lot to live up to. Are you ready for another mission?

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It’s been quite a rough start towards production, but it looks like Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski’s next project Oblivion is finally getting back on track. The sci-fi thriller has had Tom Cruise locked in to star for quite a while now, and has recently secured supporting roles in the form of Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, and Olga Kurylenko.

The newly added member of the cast, according to Deadline, is none other than Game of Thrones Star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who will join the production next month in Louisiana.

Oblivion is based on a graphic novel written by Kosinski and is set on a war torn Earth in a dystopian future, where most of mankind has found salvation in the clouds, but those who still remain on Earth must battle an alien race of scavengers living within the ruins of Civilization.

The story centers on Cruise as a drone repairman forced into an interesting world after discovering a women among the destruction (Riseborough). Coster-Waldau plays a military weapons and technology expert named Sykes who crosses paths with the mechanic.

Military strategy shouldn’t be new to the Danish actor, who’s proved himself worthy of providing a cunning yet deadly flavor to the mix as Jamie Lannister in HBO’s Game of Thrones. What we’ve seen him pull off in the series definitely makes him more than qualified to take on the role of Sykes, making this yet another casting addition that makes Oblivion something worth keeping an eye on.

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Top Tom Cruise Movies

Couch jumping nut job, avid supporter of Scientology, one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, take your pick, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV is definitely not your average actor.

Over the course of 30 years Tom Cruise established himself as a true Hollywood star, the kind that is born, not made. From his famous Risky Business dance in 1983 to almost killing his career with that Oprah incident and finally Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol today, Hollywood is a lot less boring thanks to Tom Cruise. Here are the top Tom Cruise movies based on his biggest worldwide box office hits, unadjusted for inflation.

10. The Firm (1993) $270.2 million – Sydney Pollack’s thriller is the story of law school graduate Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise). He is offered a great job by ‘The Firm’, a sinister company with more than a few dubious clients. When the FBI gets involved and asks for his help, Mitch must make a choice that will change the rest of his life. If you haven’t seen The Firm yet definitely check it out.

9. Jerry Maguire (1996) $273.6 million – Successful sports agent Jerry Maguire has a moral epiphany, realizing the wrongs of his life and career. The next day he is fired by his boss and loses all his clients except a so-so football player Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr in an Oscar winning performance). Helped by a former secretary that still believed in him (Renee Zellweger), Jerry Maguire tries to rebuild his career from scratch. Among my favorites of all time, Jerry Maguire is great movie you have to see at least once in your life.

8. Top Gun (1986) $353.8 million – Arguably one of the most popular action movies of the 80′s, Top Gun put Tom Cruise on the map for good. Even after 25 years Top Gun is still an exhilarating film.

7. Rain Man (1988) $354.8 million – Rain Man is one of those instant classic films that you can watch over and over again, year after year. Dustin Hoffman here plays an autistic man in one of his most memorable roles, receiving an Oscar for his performance. In 1989 Rain Man also won Best Original Screenplay, Director and Movie.

6. Minority Report (2002) $358.4 million – The first collaboration between director Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise, Minority Report is a fantastic sci-Fi thriller, ranking up there among the best of the best in the genre.

5. Mission: Impossible 3 (2006) $397.9 million – My favorite Mission: Impossible before I saw Ghost Protocol, this was an action-packed spy film that featured the best villain in the series history. That villain is obviously Owen Davian played insanely well by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Directed by J. J. Abrams (Star Trek, Super 8), Mission: Impossible 3 didn’t receive from audiences as much love as it got from critics, making it the lowest grosser of the series.

4. The Last Samurai (2003) $456.8 million – An epic historical drama that’s often overlooked by many, The Last Samurai marks quite a departure for Tom Cruise. We’ve seen him playing a jet pilot, a parent and a super spy, but a samurai certainly wasn’t on anyone’s list. The plot is summed up perfectly on IMDB: “An American military advisor embraces the Samurai culture he was hired to destroy after he is captured in battle.”

3. Mission: Impossible (1996) $457.7 million – Based on the 60′s and 70′s popular TV show, this is the movie Tom Cruise wanted to make since he bought the rights to the franchise. Fortunately for everyone Mission: Impossible turned out great and spawned a series that’s still going even today, more than 15 years later.

2. Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) $546.4 million – Action director John Woo handled this hectic, extremely flawed but still very enjoyable movie. Mission: Impossible 2 became the highest grossing movie of 2000 worldwide and still ranks first in the series (Ghost Protocol might want to change that in the future).

1. War of the Worlds (2005) $591.7 million – Based on the popular H. G. Wells science fiction novel, this was the second collaboration between Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg. Now I saw this in theaters and honestly, I had no problems with it. It’s enjoyable and different enough from other alien-attack films. Certainly not a cinematic masterpiece, War of the Worlds is a good movie that I recommend you watch if you haven’t before.

This was just a part of Tom Cruise’s career and if you haven’t guessed yet, while not a fan of his personal life, I very much enjoy Tom Cruise the actor. Finally I’ll give a special mention to Risky Business, the 1983 comedy that put him on the radar but didn’t make it on this top 10.

What is you top Tom Cruise movie?

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So all it took was a veteran animation director in Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and The Iron Giant) to resurrect the Mission: Impossible franchise to greatness. Why couldn’t someone track him down two installments ago?

The 133 minute fourth edition, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is simply the best in the series. Tom Cruise is in top-form and the team he surrounds himself with (Paula Patton, Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner) are with him stride-for-stride. Michael Nyqvist is also one of the better antagonists the franchise has seen, despite barely saying a word (to be fair, Phillip Seymour Hoffman was not given enough to do in the third flick).

Our espionage foreign adventure (travels through Russia, Dubai and India) sees Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) once again being recruited for his most important mission to date. His intelligence agency that signs his pay check, IMF, believes someone is attempting to start a nuclear war between Russia and the United States. Although there’s a legitimate chance to prevent all of this from unfolding, the elusive villain, going under the name Cobalt (Michael Nyqvist), is able to trigger tragic events that forces the U.S. President to shut down the IMF agency; leaving Hunt and his team (mentioned above) on their own, using very limited resources to stop a nuclear war.

Trust me; the synopsis is a bit more in-depth than the paragraph above. What is great about having Bird at the helm is that he finds the perfect speed to pace this action-caper. And he knows the exact point to explain what’s going on as the plot thickens through a variety of techniques (action, dialogue, killer new gadgets, etc.) that everyone in the audience can comprehend.

And the action is captivating! Not only is Cruise pushing himself to unbelievable limits, the rest of his cohorts are all jumping in on the ass-kicking fun. Well, except for Simon Pegg; his weapon of choice is his brilliant timing of all his sarcastic/funny lines while serving as the group’s techie. Plus, the camera – IMAX camera – is positioned so the entire scope of where the action is taking place can be viewed by the audience. Whether its fisticuffs or an assortment of chase sequences (ranging from the prototypical car jaunts to on foot in a sandstorm) they’re all clean even though their chaotic. A novel way to describe this piece is it has intense classy action; and there’s always something new around the corner. Many of the things they do here have never been seen in these types of flicks.

Besides the obvious hook of big-budget action spots, the interlude of dialogue and emotion is just as engaging in this extended thrill ride. When Bird has to slow down to make the next turn on this journey, he does it in a manner that is relaxing and exciting all at once. He basically sets the table properly and then serves one of hell of a five-course meal. Surprisingly, this spy-mystery chase is more appealing, and told more concisely than the recent Sherlock Holmes release.

And while this is still Tom Cruise’s show, he finds the ideal compliments – his supporting cast – and allows them to take over at the wheel when appropriate.

Overall, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is scary good. Tom Cruise is in the zone once again and this is by far the best directed piece in the series. Not to mention, the best directed action piece since…dare I say it? The Dark Knight.

Put it this way, yours truly had to desperately use the bathroom about 45 minutes in…And let’s just say my bladder suffered until the closing credits.

RATING: 4.5 out of 5

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