Universal Pictures once had big plans for its Dark Universe, gathering a number of A-List actors for a photoshoot teasing an entire slate of movies based on iconic monster franchises. Dracula Untold was going to be folded into that, but The Mummy (starring Tom Cruise) was viewed as the opening chapter.
Unfortunately, it was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics and fans alike, and with disappointing box office takings, it immediately killed the studio's plans for its Dark Universe.
Talking to The Playlist, The Mummy director Alexa Kurtzman reflected on the experience of making the movie and admits that it's one of his greatest personal and professional missteps. "I tend to subscribe to the point of view that you learn nothing from your successes, and you learn everything from your failures," the filmmaker recalled, getting candid about the experience. "And that was probably the biggest failure of my life, both personally and professionally. There are about a million things I regret about it, but it also gave me so many gifts that are inexpressibly beautiful."
"I didn’t become a director until I made that movie, and it wasn’t because it was well directed – it was because it wasn’t," Kurtzman continued. "And as brutal as it was, in many ways, and as many cooks in the kitchen as there were, I am very grateful for the opportunity to make those mistakes because it rebuilt me into a tougher person and it also rebuilt me into a clearer filmmaker."
It certainly sounds like studio interference hampered The Mummy to some extent, but Kurtzman has a spotty track record as a director and writer, so it's only right he takes his fair share of the blame. Since the movie bombed, Universal has changed tact with its monster movies, scrapping plans for a Marvel Cinematic Universe-style shared world to tell standalone stories like The Invisible Man.
What did you think about The Mummy when it arrived in theaters back in 2017?