'The Mummy' is a planned reboot of the popular horror-adventure series of the same name that starred Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. The remake is said to stick to the same genre but may feature a female mummy in place of the original male one. Director Alex Kurtzman also offered some updates regarding the progress of the film including news that they are currently working on the screenplay.
According to MTV News, the upcoming reboot will be part of Universal's planned shared monster cinematic universe. Writer Jon Spaihts has written two scripts: one involving a male mummy and another one featuring a female mummy. It was reported that both options will get corresponding actors to play the part and whoever will impress the most will hold the key to becoming the next big-screen villain in the series.
The original 1932 version featured Boris Karloff as Imohtep the mummy, while the modern 1999 film featured Arnold Vosloo. Throughout the series, the mummy was always depicted as a resurrected male.
These days, it is not unusual for remakes to get an estrogen-twist - with roles initially written for men to be portrayed by women instead. An article from Hollywood.com stated that an example would be the female Thor announced by Marvel. The new female character gets the same superpowers and abilities as her male counterpart.
Another classic example - one that would most likely surprise the biggest fans of Ridley Scott's pop culture phenomenon 'Alien' - involved the cross-casting of Sigourney Weaver into her character Ripley. The filmmaker originally had the role pegged for a male lead, but he eventually altered his decision to cement one of the most iconic feminist role models in cinematic history by casting Weaver in a character once made for a male actor.
Meanwhile, director Alex Kurtzman confirmed that all is well with development for 'The Mummy' reboot. According to IGN, he said, "The monster universe is coming together very very quickly, we're very excited. There will be announcements soon... We have actually started doing a lot of design work, we're getting scripts in, everything is feeling really, really good, so I don't want to curse it by saying too much to you, but it's going well." He added that even though changes have been made on the script, the remake will remain a horror film combined with action and adventure genres.
'The Mummy' is an upcoming reboot of the popular franchise of the same name started in the 1930's. The newest addition to the franchise will be helmed by Alex Kurtzman.
The horror action-adventure franchise centers on an ancient Egyptian priest resurrected into modern times and bringing with him a powerful curse that could usher in the end of days. The original series from 1932 to 1955 consisted of five films that starred iconic horror actors of their generation including Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., Eddie Parker and Tom Tyler. The remakes from 1999 to 2008 by director Stephen Sommers starred Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz.
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