When you think of film universes these days, you immediately think of the MCU. But almost 90 years ago, a different film cosmos began. Universal wanted to revive this with a remake, but the venture failed, despite great star power.
What film is it about? The Mummy with Tom Cruise was released in 2017. This is basically the second remake of The Mummy from 1932. The film with Tom Cruise wasn’t just supposed to revive a franchise, it was supposed to be the start of an entire cinematic universe.
Tom Cruise was supposed to introduce the Dark Universe, which was based on many characters who had already been brought together in a film universe in the 1930s. The Dark Universe was supposed to have star power, but after The Mummy there wasn’t the film series we were hoping for. And that despite the fact that at first glance the film didn’t perform badly.
The Mummy – Trailer for the remake of the horror classic with Tom Cruise
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A dark film universe: The Dark Universe
What is the Dark Universe? In the ’30s, Universal had many iconic horror characters who not only had individual films, but also met each other in films. Kind of like the MCU today. These included characters such as Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, Dr. Jekyll, the invisible man and the mummy.
The remake of The Mummy was supposed to be the start of the remake universe in 2017. There were even planned actors for the iconic characters and they were impressive:
That’s some serious star power that Universal wanted to bring to the table for their new universe. But after the start of The Mummy, the big planned universe didn’t get off the ground, even though the numbers don’t look bad on paper.
The Mummy was not the start we had hoped for
How did The Mummy perform? If you look at the numbers on Box Office Mojo, at first glance it doesn’t look so bad. The film grossed over $400 million on a fairly high budget of $120 million. This is a solid result.
But you have to look a little closer. In the USA itself, the film flopped pretty hard and only grossed just under $80 million. The result comes through many other countries, especially China. The film grossed over $90 million there. It looked similar with Pacific Rim 2.
Despite the solid box office results, things looked bleaker for viewers and critics. The film has a disastrous critic score of 15% on Rotten Tomatoes and viewers weren’t impressed either. The user score is 35%.
That’s a pretty bad sign for sequels, despite the good box office returns.
Universal has set the wrong focus
Why didn’t the Dark Universe happen? There are no official statements from Universal about this, but one can make assumptions. The Mummy is the second remake of the 1932 classic, which was a clear representative of the still young horror genre. The first remake with Brendan Fraser was released in 1999, which relies more on a light-hearted adventure atmosphere.
The film with Tom Cruise is neither. It is an action film that mixes elements of fantasy and adventure. The horror of the original and the charming protagonist of the remake are missing.
Another problem was probably the audience, which was getting tired of all the film universes. The MCU began 10 years earlier, and the Monsterverse relies on a clear trademark with Godzilla that has been solidified in pop culture. The classics from the 30s are no longer as widely known as Batman or Spider-Man.
The Dark Universe isn’t completely dead after all
What happened after The Mummy? The many planned films in the sense of a dark universe are (for now) buried, but as a fan you didn’t have to say goodbye to the iconic characters, because there were still a few films to follow.
Fans of the old classics and characters can expect an interesting future, even without a clichéd universe. Another monster icon currently works as a universe and that is the giant lizard Godzilla: After a long time, I really had goosebumps in the cinema and it’s Godzilla Minus One’s fault