THE MUMMY Trailer

Universal Pictures has dutifully kept the rights to their classic monsters for decades, periodically releasing one-off and usually disappointing films like 2010’s The Wolfman and 2014’s Dracula Untold. Ever since their heyday ended in the 1950s, the beloved monsters have been cinematically aimless, lacking the edge and care that made them so popular. People forget, but right before Marilyn Monroe’s dress blows up in The Seven Year Itch, she ponders on the lonely motivations of The Creature in Creature from the Black Lagoon, getting at the universal (pun intended) fears that made the monsters creepily relatable.

Finally, Universal Pictures has a plan for these legends, kicking off a shared cinematic universe with the Tom Cruise-led The Mummy. With no big team ups currently planned, details on what the monster mash world will look like is sparse, but from casting news we know that Universal is signing big stars. The Mummy looks like more of an action movie than horror, which would be a distinct take on these characters and leaves you wondering what kind of enemy could bring them together.

Admittedly, that kind of speculation is very premature, but it’s also what makes The Mummy so much more exciting than its recent predecessors. This is no fumbling reboot, but a large scale, purposeful effort to bring back a swarm of characters that people love. The Mummy is a critical first step in getting people to buy into the world, and if DC and Marvel have shown us anything, it’s how trendsetting that first step can be.

The Mummy is directed by Alex Kurtzman and stars Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, and Annabelle Wallis. It will be released in the U.S. and the U.K. on June 9th, 2017. For international release dates, click here.

Do you think The Mummy will successfully launch a monster-filled world? Let us know in the comments!