Last night, during the new episode of The Walking Dead, Universal Pictures unveiled the first trailer for The Mummy, which kicks off the studio's mosnter reboot universe in theaters on June 9. This star-studded ensemble features Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe, along with talented newcomer Sofia Boutella, who becomes the first ever female Mummy in the franchise's storied history, dating back to the 1930s. Now that the first trailer has debuted, Universal is taking fans behind-the-scenes with a new preview that sheds even more light on this story.
This two and a half minute preview from Universal Pictures features Tom Cruise sharing his thoughts about this franchise, revealing that he grew up with the classic horror movies from Universal Pictures, which "utterly terrified" him, while Sofia Boutella also praises these original classics. Director Alex Kurtzman adds that they owe the audience a monster movie, while we also get to see behind-the-scenes footage from the explosive and action-pakced Africa shoot. We also get to go behind-the-scenes of the zero gravity scene that was shown in the trailer, where Tom Cruise and Annabelle Wallis are being thrown around an airplane as it plummets to the Earth.
Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy. Thought safely entombed in a tomb deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient princess (Sofia Boutella of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension. From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters.
Cruise is joined by a cast including Annabelle Wallis (upcoming King Arthur, television's Peaky Blinders), Jake Johnson (Jurassic World), Courtney B. Vance (TV's American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson) and Oscar winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator). The creative team on this action-adventure event is led by director/producer Alex Kurtzman and producer Chris Morgan, who have been instrumental in growing some of the most successful franchises of the past several years-with Kurtzman writing or producing entries in the Transformers, Star Trek and Mission: Impossible series, and Morgan being the narrative engineer of the Fast & Furious saga as it has experienced explosive growth from its third chapter on. Sean Daniel, who produced the most recent Mummy trilogy, produces alongside Kurtzman and Morgan.
Earlier today, we also reported that the 2014 adventure Dracula Untold is now not going to be a part of the Universal Monster Universe. While most of that movie, which stars Luke Evans as the title character, is set hundreds of years ago, there was a post-credits scene added which showed the vampire in present day, which was later confirmed to include this character in the studio's monster reboot plans. Now it seems they aren't going in this direction, with The Mummy director Alex Kurtzman confirming that Dracula Untold will not be mentioned again. The Mummy hits theaters on June 9, 2017, going up against Paramount's World War Z 2. Take a look at this preview below to go behind-the-scenes with The Mummy.