It was a bold move on Ryan Murphy’s part when, after snagging big names like John Travolta, Cuba Gooding Jr., David Schwimmer, and Nathan Lane for THE PEOPLE VS. O.J. SIMPSON, he gave the showiest role, that of Johnny Cochran, the man widely attributed with “getting O.J. off”, to Courtney B. Vance. Casting Vance, a 30-year vet of TV and film that was arguably best known for starring on LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT, turned out to be a masterstroke, and his Cochran ended up (perhaps inevitably) walking away with a sizable portion of the best lines and moments from the entire miniseries.
So when you hear that Vance is going to star in THE MUMMY opposite Tom Cruise, you realize that this could be Vance’s big move into movie parts that matter and get noticed on a national (international?) level.
Now, it’s not like Vance was starving or anything; he popped up as Miles Dyson in TERMINATOR GENISYS just last year, and had an NAACP Award-nominated run on MASTERS OF SEX back in '14. But one imagines that, after walking away with THE PEOPLE VS. O.J. SIMPSON, he’ll be getting a lot more to do in THE MUMMY and in movie roles going forward than he did in stuff like GENISYS, FINAL DESTINATION 5, and SPACE COWBOYS. Hell, it’s entirely possible that people will end up seeing this movie just because of Vance’s presence; the miniseries was the highest-watched new show on cable so far this year, and was must-see, must-discuss programming during the 10 weeks it was on the air, with nearly everyone singling out Vance’s performance among fellow, less-showy standouts Sarah Paulson, Sterling K. Brown, and the occasionally showstopping Gooding Jr.. He’s ripe for another plum role, one that’s not based on someone the public has a clear memory of in their head, and hopefully, this Alex Kurtzman-directed monster movie will at least be a step in that direction.
Now, let’s see if they let him keep that epic ’stache.
THE MUMMY will likely be somewhat harder to defend than O.J. on June 9th, 2017.
