Director Excluded 8 Years Ago Speaks Out on Action Fantasy Film’s Box Office Flop!

Last year, marking the 25th anniversary of his film “The Mummy,” Stephen Sommers spoke to the Hollywood Reporter, sharing not only memories but also his bitterness. The director of the 1999 hit revealed his disappointment at not being approached for the 2017 reboot starring Tom Cruise, alongside Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman), and Russell Crowe.

To recall, the 1999 version of “The Mummy” — featuring the unforgettable trio of Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah — was a global blockbuster, earning over $417 million at the box office (which would be about $786 million today, accounting for inflation). This was a significant win for Universal, especially given the original budget was estimated at $80 million. However, the sequels and various spin-offs did not manage to recapture the same brilliance.

The “Mummy” series indeed consists of three films starring Brendan Fraser: “The Mummy” (1999), “The Mummy Returns” (2001) – featuring The Rock as the Scorpion King – and “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” (2008), where Rachel Weisz did not return. Instead, Maria Bello, Michelle Yeoh, and Jet Li joined the cast.

An Insult to the Director

In his interview, Stephen Sommers openly discussed his exclusion from the 2017 reboot project directed by Alex Kurtzman with Tom Cruise.

“I wasn’t contacted at all. In fact, I felt insulted because neither the writers nor Alex Kurtzman reached out to me,” he revealed.

He also talked about the third film directed by Rob Cohen, which he chose to produce rather than direct to avoid stepping on the new director’s toes: “I reach out to people if I’m taking over someone’s work. On the third film, directed by Rob [Cohen], it was somewhat my baby. I didn’t want to step on his toes, so I helped produce it.”

However, he had no involvement with the 2017 reboot. “But I had nothing to do with the Tom Cruise one. They never contacted me or called. I was busy with other things, and it’s not like I was sitting around crying. I just think it’s common courtesy.”

A Failed Reboot and a Dead Shared Universe

The “Universal Monsters” have always held a unique spot in the famous studio’s catalog and have inspired numerous remakes over the years.

Universal had high hopes for them by relaunching “The Mummy” with Tom Cruise. Since “Dracula Untold” in 2014, the studio aimed to create its own shared universe, dubbed “Dark Universe,” featuring famous Universal monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, the Wolfman, and even Doctor Jekyll, portrayed in the film by Russell Crowe.

But the project fell through. Despite the presence of a global star, the 2017 film did not perform as expected: with a production budget estimated at $125 million—plus a marketing campaign over $100 million—”The Mummy” only made $409 million worldwide, far below expectations.

Shortly after, Universal paused its remake projects, including “The Bride of Frankenstein,” which was in pre-production.

“None of us wants to rush just to meet a release date when this film is special and needs time to get right,” the studio said in a statement (via Deadline).

Thus, the message was clear: the “Dark Universe” was at a standstill.

Acknowledging the Failure

In November 2017, the key architects of the “Dark Universe,” Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan, quietly stepped away from the project. Morgan returned to the Fast & Furious franchise, while Kurtzman focused on Star Trek: Discovery.

In February 2020, speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Donna Langley, CEO of Universal, acknowledged the failure candidly: “We tried to interweave our monsters, and it failed. We realized that these characters are timeless for a reason […] and the world certainly didn’t ask for a shared universe of classic monsters. So, we’ve gone back and created a different approach: filmmaker first, budget second.”

The studio then decided to adopt this new approach: giving more freedom to directors and tailoring budgets to each creative vision. A lesson learned from this prematurely mummified experience.

The first two installments of “The Mummy,” as well as the reboot starring Tom Cruise, are available for streaming on Prime Video. To watch the third installment, head to VOD.