When you think of film universes these days, you immediately think of the MCU. However, another film cosmos started almost 90 years ago. Universal wanted to revive this with a remake, but the endeavor failed, despite great star power.
Which film is it about? In 2017, The Mummy with Tom Cruise was released. This is essentially the second remake of The Mummy from 1932. The film with Tom Cruise was meant to not just revive one franchise, but to kick off a whole cinematic universe.
Tom Cruise was supposed to initiate the Dark Universe, which is based on many characters that were already brought together in a film universe in the 1930s. The Dark Universe was meant to have star power, but after The Mummy, there was no hoped-for film series. And this, even though the film didn’t perform badly at first glance.
A Dark Film Universe: The Dark Universe
What is the Dark Universe? In the 30s, Universal had many iconic horror figures that not only had standalone films but also crossed paths in films. Similar to the MCU today. Among these were figures like Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, Dr. Jekyll, the Invisible Man, and indeed the Mummy.
The remake of The Mummy was supposed to kick off the remake universe in 2017. There were even planned actors for the iconic characters, and they were impressive:
- Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll
- Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s monster
- Angelina Jolie as the Bride of Frankenstein
- Johnny Depp as the Invisible Man
- Dwayne Johnson as the Wolf Man
- Channing Tatum as Van Helsing
This is quite a star power that Universal wanted to bring to their new universe. However, after the release of The Mummy, the grandly planned universe did not take off, especially since the numbers on paper did not look bad.
The Mummy Was Not the Hoped-for Start
How did The Mummy perform? Looking at the numbers on Box Office Mojo, it doesn’t look so bad at first glance. The film grossed over 400 million dollars against a fairly high budget of 120 million dollars. That’s a solid result.
But one must look a little closer. In the USA, the film actually flopped quite hard and only earned just under 80 million dollars. The result is made up of many other countries, especially China. There, the film grossed over 90 million dollars. It was similar with Pacific Rim 2.
Despite the solid box office numbers, audience and critic reception was much darker. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a catastrophic critic score of 15%, and the audience was also not thrilled. The user score stands at a value of 35%.
This is a rather bad sign for sequels, despite the good box office results.
Universal Set the Wrong Focus
Why did the Dark Universe not materialize? There are no official statements from Universal on this, but speculations can be made. The Mummy is the second remake of the classic from 1932, which was a clear representative of the still young horror genre. The first remake came out in 1999 with Brendan Fraser, leaning more towards a light-hearted adventure atmosphere.
The film with Tom Cruise is neither of those. 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 lacking.
Another problem was probably the audience, which was slowly getting tired of the whole film universes. The MCU began 10 years earlier, and the Monsterverse is based on Godzilla, a clear trademark that is solidified in pop culture. The classics from the 30s are simply not as generally known as Batman or Spider-Man anymore.
The Dark Universe Is Not Quite Dead
What happened after The Mummy? While the many planned films for a Dark Universe are (for now) buried, fans did not have to say goodbye to the iconic figures, as some films did follow.
- In 2020, The Invisible Man was released as a horror film
- In 2023, The Last Voyage of the Demeter was released, an adaptation of a chapter from Bram Stoker’s Dracula
- In 2025, a remake of Nosferatu, a horror milestone, is set to be released
- Also in 2025, a remake of Wolf Man is set to be released
- And a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon is also in development
Fans of the old classics and figures can look forward to an interesting future, even without a clichéd universe. Another monster icon is currently working quite well as a universe, and that is the giant lizard Godzilla: I felt genuine thrills in the cinema for the first time in a long time, and the culprit is Godzilla Minus One
