A while back it was announced that Universal will be dusting off a number if its horror icons - like Wolfman, Invisible Man, Dracula, etc. My understanding is said effort would involve ‘universe’ building - a plan which would ultimately see these creatures/characters existing in the same continuity, a la the current Marvel cinema undertakings. Stand-alones, monster jamborees, etc.
Said undertaking is being spearheaded by Alex Kurtzman (of Orci and Kurtzman) and Chris Morgan (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS series). More recently, we learned that Kurtzman would direct a full-on reboot of THE MUMMY - i.e. starting from the ground up, completely discounting the Stephen Sommers/Brendan Fraser verse and mythos.
Via SuperheroMovieNews comes an initial taste of that new MUMMY project; they now have a copy of the film’s script in their possession. SMN doesn’t specifically say who wrote the draft being perused, although they correctly indicate that Jon Spaihts (pre-Lindelof PROMETHEUS) has been involved for a bit of time, so presumably this is his work?
The story follows Navy Seal Tyler Colt and his mission in the Iraqi desert to find a group of terrorists hiding out in a bunker. To him and his teams surprise the terrorists within the bunker turn out be nothing more then some grave robbers who have all magically died. Upon entering the bunker Tyler and his team also succumb to some mystical forces out of their control. They soon realize the bunker they have infiltrated is actually a centuries old tomb. Mayhem erupts as all the Navy seal members start turning on one another and are captivated by the forces within the tomb. Tyler is the only one to make it all the way deep within the tomb alive to find an Black Iron Sarcophagus. It's marked with Egyptian symbols like the Ankh and Eye of Horus. Here Tyler is entranced by the forces to open up and release what is inside. But after placing his hand onto the sarcophagus he is immediately stabbed in the palm with a star shaped symbol. From then on his mind is cursed with visions of Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria.....The Mummy.
[EDIT]
I should probably have put this in the original story but now it seems many are confused by the opening sequence. Tyler Colt is not The Mummy. He is simply cursed by visions of the Mummy (Ashurbanipul) back when The Mummy was the King of Assyria century's before. That leads Tyler to become recluse and man on the run no longer in the military. Further along in the movie the actual Mummy does indeed awaken and Tyler is the only one who can stop him because again their minds are connected.
You can find more HERE, including a short list of other characters appearing in the film.
The elephant in the room here is how, exactly, will Universal’s recently released, underperforming DRACULA UNTOLD fit into this equation. My understanding is (and someone please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong): UNTOLD was configured to work as either a stand-alone entry, a set-up for its own continuity, or it could serve as a springboard to inject Luke Evans’ Dracula into this new verse if the decision was made to do so.
While my sentiments may not be shared by many, I enjoyed DRACULA UNTOLD (especially the film’s design and John Schwartzman’s cinematography) and would be more than happy to see further exploits of Evans-Drac on the big screen. It would seem the chances of this happening are a tad low at this point, but a guy can always hope…
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Glen Oliver
“Merrick”
