Universal's DARK UNIVERSE Future In Doubt As THE MUMMY Flops; Alex Kurtzman Explains The Movie's Ending

The Mummy has flopped at the box office and while Universal is still moving forward with its Dark Universe, this movie's twist ending - as explained by Alex Kurtzman - could now be left unresolved.

By JoshWilding - Jun 13, 2017 08:06 AM EST

Filed Under: Mummy

With a little over $32.2 million at the North America box office, things aren't looking good for The Mummy's chances of success. While it definitely performed better overseas, this isn't a particularly strong start for Universal's Dark Universe. Yes, the studio is pushing forward with its plan to launch a shared world of movie monsters, but a combination of that and negative reviews have hurt the brand.

"The Dark Universe is a continuation of a love affair the studio has had with its classic monsters. It is a Valentine to the genre that is in our DNA," Universal domestic distribution president Nick Carpou tells The Hollywood Reporter after insisting the future of the Dark Universe doesn't hinge on The Mummy's success. However, the trade points out that the pressure is now on for these movies to work, especially as Dracula Untold was supposed to launch this world and also proved to be a failure.

"I don't think Universal's Dark Universe will collapse because of The Mummy underperforming, but it should make the studio think twice about pumping so much money into their vastly expanding universe," says Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations. "There will be a lot riding on Bride of Frankenstein. And when I say a lot, I mean everything." With Universal insisting that each movie will have a standalone feel, we can probably forget about an eventual team-up if the next movies don't work!

However, with the ending of The Mummy leaving Tom Cruise's character as a Mummy himself (his face is wrapped in bandages and never seen but it appears as if he's acquired powers after sacrificing his life to stop the villain), could that be left unresolved? Who knows, but director Alex Kurtzman explains:

"We actually used a fair amount of the design from Tom looking like a full monster in the one moment when he screams over Jenny. Because it's so fast, you can't quite process exactly what it is. You can tell something is very wrong, but you can't quite tell what it is. The choice to play their scene with Tom essentially in silhouette was very much designed from the idea that what you don't see is going to be scarier, and there's a subjectivity to the storytelling in that moment, because she's trying to see him as we're trying to see him. I'm kind of tying her experience to the audience's experience and hopefully it makes you lean in a little more to wondering what it looks like. Who knows what his monsterness will evolve into over the course of the next film? We have a lot of ideas about that. ... They live in a gray area, not just the monsters, but the characters who inhabit their world inhabit a gray area, and I look forward to seeing how Nick's struggle evolves, because he now understands the best version of himself, and yet, he's going to have a literal devil inside of him. How are those two things going to work together?"

It's an interesting move, but it remains to be seen if it will pay off. Kurtzman seems confident a sequel will happen and says we could see Cruise's Mummy before then, but based on these box office numbers, it probably won't happen! What do you guys think? Share your thoughts in the usual place!

Tom Cruise Told His THE MUMMY Co-Star That No One Was Allowed To Run Alongside Him On Screen

Recommended For You:

THE MUMMY Finishes BO Run With Over $407M Worldwide; New Deleted Scenes & Blu-ray Featurettes Released

DISCLAIMER: ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and... [MORE]

ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

180 Comments

1 2 3 4 5

SuperCat - 6/13/2017, 8:19 AM

Still plan on seeing this :/

EZBeast - 6/13/2017, 8:25 AM

@SuperCat - me too mate...after about 5 beers to help get me through it

SuperCat - 6/13/2017, 8:27 AM

@MrNegative - LOL. Think it'll be that bad?

BloodyBed - 6/13/2017, 8:45 AM

@SuperCat - redlettermedia likes it. I bet it's good dumb fun. I'm actually pretty stoked to pay-per-view it some day.

SuperCat - 6/13/2017, 8:46 AM

@ALostCause - Maybe it will air on TNT first. LOL.

BloodyBed - 6/13/2017, 8:49 AM

@SuperCat - oh... actually my friend was [frick]ing with me.. just checked, rlm doesn't like it...

SuperCat - 6/13/2017, 8:53 AM

@ALostCause - Damn. My brother is seeing it today. He said he'll let me know how it is. He has really low expectations.

Luigi - 6/13/2017, 8:54 AM

@ALostCause - What do you mean Redlettermedia likes it? Didn't they say hated thid on Half in the Bag?

Eagles0589 - 6/13/2017, 9:03 AM

@SuperCat - I liked almost as much as the first Brendan Fraser one. It was definitely better than the 2 sequals.

MasterMix - 6/13/2017, 9:09 AM

@SuperCat - It's your funeral. I left my body and didn't react in anyway.

noahthegrand - 6/13/2017, 9:12 AM

@ALostCause - it was okay. Had some good moments. If you like seeing tom cruise get hurt( in a movie, I'm not a psycho) this is the film for you!

SuperCat - 6/13/2017, 9:23 AM

@MasterMix - That bad, huh? Think I'll still take a chance. Sounds like a matinee.

AwesomePromoz - 6/13/2017, 9:45 AM

LOLOL Alex Kurtzman sounds like such a [frick]ing hack, whoever hires him to make movies deserve to flop hard.

captquirk - 6/13/2017, 10:22 AM

@Eagles0589 - I liked the first 2 of Fraser's Mummy movies. I'm a sucker for period pieces :)But it did go down hill from there. Bad continuity, and just heaping on more ridiculousness didn't help.

EZBeast - 6/13/2017, 10:51 AM

@SuperCat - took 3 for me to get through power rangers and that wasn't nearly enough.

ELAYEM - 6/13/2017, 8:21 AM

It's a shame if it fails because they had such great acting talent and the idea of a Monster universe was really exciting.

ELAYEM - 6/13/2017, 8:22 AM

On the other hand, dont force cinematic universes, and if you do, dont let [frick]in Kurtzman lead it lol.
Focus on making a good single movie first.

soberchimera - 6/13/2017, 8:42 AM

@Elayem - Yeah they got the guy who tried and failed to get a Spidey Universe going to head their Monsters Universe.

ELAYEM - 6/13/2017, 8:48 AM

@soberchimera - Yeah exactly lol

bbting - 6/13/2017, 8:22 AM

They need to go back to the horror aspect, make these actually scary vs as an action movie.

Himura - 6/14/2017, 2:38 AM

@azimiq - If they did, the shared universe wouldve been wayyyy more interesting to see and set it apart from all the other shared universes everyone is trying to create.

ODanil - 6/13/2017, 8:22 AM

I don't think I'm going to see this

MattBellissimo - 6/13/2017, 8:23 AM

The movie was bad?

Shocking.

Dark Universe is an awful, ham-fisted idea that I hope fails miserably.

1 2 3 4 5

Universal's DARK UNIVERSE Future In Doubt As THE MUMMY Flops; Alex Kurtzman Explains The Movie's Ending

The Mummy has flopped at the box office and while Universal is still moving forward with its Dark Universe, this movie's twist ending - as explained by Alex Kurtzman - could now be left unresolved.

Tom Cruise Told His THE MUMMY Co-Star That No One Was Allowed To Run Alongside Him On Screen

THE MUMMY Finishes BO Run With Over $407M Worldwide; New Deleted Scenes & Blu-ray Featurettes Released

Tom Cruise Told His THE MUMMY Co-Star That No One Was Allowed To Run Alongside Him On Screen

THE MUMMY's Tom Cruise, MOTHER! Actress Jennifer Lawrence And More Pick Up Razzie Award Nominations

THE MUMMY Finishes BO Run With Over $407M Worldwide; New Deleted Scenes & Blu-ray Featurettes Released

Tom Cruise Told His THE MUMMY Co-Star That No One Was Allowed To Run Alongside Him On Screen

THE MUMMY's Tom Cruise, MOTHER! Actress Jennifer Lawrence And More Pick Up Razzie Award Nominations

THE MUMMY Finishes BO Run With Over $407M Worldwide; New Deleted Scenes & Blu-ray Featurettes Released

THE MUMMY 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, & Digital HD Release Date Announced & Cover Art Unveiled

Universal's DARK UNIVERSE Future In Doubt As THE MUMMY Flops; Alex Kurtzman Explains The Movie's Ending

WONDER WOMAN Retains Weekend Box Office Crown With $57.2M, THE MUMMY Opens Huge Worldwide With $174M

Popular Headlines

DEADPOOL 3 Set Photos And Video Reveal X-MEN Cameos, LOKI Tie-In, And Iconic FANTASTIC FOUR Vehicle - SPOILERS

DEADPOOL 3 Set Photos Reveal Surprising MOON KNIGHT & CAPTAIN AMERICA Connections - SPOILERS

ECHO: Leaked Details Tease Plans For Maya Lopez In The MCU Beyond Her Upcoming Spin-Off Series

DEADPOOL 3 Star Ryan Reynolds Responds To Recent Set Photo Leaks; Says Movie "Is Built For Audience Joy"

SUICIDE SQUAD Director David Ayer Says Ayer Cut Is "Coming" And Vows To Expose Warner Bros.' "Cowardliness"

WONKA Star Hugh Grant Says He "Hated" Playing An Oompa Loompa; Rotten Tomatoes Score Revealed

NOSFERATU: Count Orlok Intimidates Hutter In New Image From Robert Eggers' Remake

DEADPOOL 3 Star Ryan Reynolds Responds To Recent Set Photo Leaks; Says Movie "Is Built For Audience Joy"

WONKA Star Hugh Grant Says He "Hated" Playing An Oompa Loompa; Rotten Tomatoes Score Revealed

NOSFERATU: Count Orlok Intimidates Hutter In New Image From Robert Eggers' Remake

DEADPOOL 3 Star Ryan Reynolds Responds To Recent Set Photo Leaks; Says Movie "Is Built For Audience Joy"

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME Concept Art Reveals Peter Parker's Scrapped Team-Up With A Sinister Villain

FURIOSA Director George Miller Confirms Prequel's Place In Timeline And Hints At Possible MAD MAX Cameo

THE MARVELS Star Iman Vellani Reveals What Became Of Ms. Marvel's Original Superhero Costume

Hot Headlines

Jonathan Majors Assault Trial Begins; Defence And Prosecution Recount Very Different Versions Of Events

UPDATE: Rockstar Games Unleashes The First GRAND THEFT AUTO 6 Trailer And It's Everything You Were Expecting

DOCTOR WHO: "The Giggle" Leak Reveals Shocking Plan For David Tennant & Ncuti Gatwa's Regeneration - SPOILERS

ECHO: Leaked Details Tease Plans For Maya Lopez In The MCU Beyond Her Upcoming Spin-Off Series

GODZILLA MINUS ONE Surpasses Initial Projections For Record-Breaking $11 Million North American Debut

Popular Headlines

Hot Headlines

Jonathan Majors Assault Trial Begins; Defence And Prosecution Recount Very Different Versions Of Events

UPDATE: Rockstar Games Unleashes The First GRAND THEFT AUTO 6 Trailer And It's Everything You Were Expecting

DOCTOR WHO: "The Giggle" Leak Reveals Shocking Plan For David Tennant & Ncuti Gatwa's Regeneration - SPOILERS

ECHO: Leaked Details Tease Plans For Maya Lopez In The MCU Beyond Her Upcoming Spin-Off Series

GODZILLA MINUS ONE Surpasses Initial Projections For Record-Breaking $11 Million North American Debut