By Len Wiseman, right off the successful bombing of his Total Recall remake, is set to direct Universal’s second remake of The Mummy for a 2014 release (the first being the four film franchise starring Brendan Fraser) with Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Sean Daniel, and Jim Jacks all set to produce.
According to Deadline, Wiseman says the pitch takes mummies at set them in a more present day setting.
“When I first heard Universal was relaunching [The Mummy], that is the image that popped into my head, the period tale, the old monster, but when Bob and Alex pitched it, there was a great new take and approach, and a very different mummy as well…It’s a darker twist on the material, a scarier version.”
Alex Kurtzman approached Wiseman because of his success launching the Underworld franchise, “creating mythology” for it, and then sticking with that mythology. Kurtzman also argues that the remake will “[reach] into the deep roots of The Mummy, which at its beating heart is a horror movie and then an action movie, and putting it into a context that is real and emotional.” If they wanted real and emotional, Wiseman may be the right choice. At least he understands why a Mummy is so compelling.
“One of the things that interested me with this mummy is, he’s still in essence a man…They haven’t turned his brain into a monster brain. He still has a personality and is very cunning and calculating. He’s a true character in any form, and in creature form, even if he is that staggering creature, it becomes more important that he’s a thinking, calculating person.”
Although no Mummy movie will ever compare to the Abbott and Costello version, I’m all for more mummies. We could always use more mummies since they’re the best parts of vampires, zombies, and serial killers all wrapped in one (get it? GET IT?). Look, no matter how you feel about another remake hitting our screens, at least this won’t be Twilight with Mummies (which I named Bandages).
[via Deadline]