The Mummy (2017)
- The original script for The Mummy was written over a decade before production finally began in 2017.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
- Before Tom Cruise was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
The Mummy is a 2017 American action-adventure horror film directed by Alex Kurtzman, intended to launch Universal Pictures' Dark Universe โ a shared cinematic universe featuring the studio's classic monster properties. Tom Cruise stars as Nick Morton, a U.S. military reconnaissance officer in Iraq who accidentally uncovers the tomb of Ahmanet, an ancient Egyptian princess played by Sofia Boutella, who was mummified alive for murdering her family to gain supernatural power. When Ahmanet is unleashed in modern London, Nick must stop her from completing a ritual that would bring the god Set into the physical world.
The Mummy was critically savaged and is widely considered one of the most high-profile franchise launch failures in modern Hollywood. The film's tonal confusion โ caught between horror, action comedy, and franchise world-building โ satisfied no audience. Russell Crowe's appearance as Dr.
Jekyll, intended to establish the Dark Universe's Nick Fury-style connective figure, felt forced. The film earned $409 million worldwide on a $195 million budget, a commercial disappointment that immediately killed Universal's shared universe plans.
