The Mummy (franchise)
| The Mummy | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Stephen Sommers The Mummy and The Mummy Returns Rob Cohen The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor |
| Screenplay by | Stephen Sommers Alfred Gough Miles Millar |
| Produced by | Sean Daniel James Jacks |
| Starring | List of The Mummy characters |
| Edited by | Bob Ducsay Ray Bushey III Kelly Matsumoto Joel Negron |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith Alan Silvestri Randy Edelman John Debney (additional music) |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date | 1999-2008 |
Running time | 366 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English Arabic Ancient Egyptian |
| Budget | $323 million |
| Box office | $1,415,408,499 |
The Mummy is the title of several horror-adventure film series centered on an ancient Egyptian priest who is accidentally resurrected, bringing with him a powerful curse, and the ensuing efforts of heroic archaeologists to stop him. These three series of films accompany a spin-off film series, two comic book adaptations, two video games, an animated television series and a roller coaster ride.
Universal Horror series (1932–1955)
The original series of films consisted of six installments in which starred iconic horror actors such as Boris Karloff (only in the original one, as Imhotep); Tom Tyler and Lon Chaney Jr. as Kharis; and lastly Eddie Parker, who played Klaris, a cousin of Kharis.
Hammer Horror series (1959–1971)
In 1959, the British Hammer Film Productions began its own The Mummy series of films. These include the following:
- The Mummy (1959). Set in 1895, the film stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as Kharis. The plot is based on Universal's own The Mummy's Hand and The Mummy's Tomb.
- The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964). Features Dickie Owen as the Mummy Ra-Antef.
- The Mummy's Shroud (1967). Features Eddie Powell as the Mummy Prem.
- Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971). Based on Bram Stoker's 1903 novel The Jewel of Seven Stars. Features Valerie Leon as the Mummy Queen Tera and her reincarnation Margaret Fuchs.
Stephen Sommers series (1999–2008)
Overview
Originally a proposed remake of The Mummy would have been directed by horror filmmaker/writer Clive Barker. Barker’s vision for the film was violent, with the story revolving around the head of a contemporary art museum who turns out to be a cultist trying to reanimate mummies.[1][2] Barker's take was "dark, sexual and filled with mysticism",[3] and that, "it would have been a great low-budget movie".[1]
In 1999, Stephen Sommers wrote and directed a remake of The Mummy, loosely based on the original film of 1932. This film switches genres from the emphasis on horror to adventure, concentrating more on action sequences and effects, and a higher element of Egyptian lore. The film became a box office success spawning two sequels and a cancelled fourth film, a spin-off series, and an animated television series. The first two films received mixed reviews, while the third one received mostly negative reviews.
The three Sommers films
- The Mummy, 1999. It is the year 1923 and Richard “Rick” O'Connell, an American explorer, has discovered Hamunaptra, the city of the dead. Three years later, O'Connell returns to the site with a beautiful librarian, Evelyn 'Evie' Carnahan and her brother, Jonathan. When Evie accidentally revives the mummified corpse of an Egyptian priest, Imhotep, the pair must find a way to kill him before he rises back into power and destroys the world.
- The Mummy Returns, 2001. It is the year 1933 and Rick O'Connell and Evelyn Carnahan are married with an 8 year-old son, Alex. When Alex triggers a curse and Imhotep is resurrected, Rick and Evie must once again try to save the world and defeat the mummy.
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, 2008. Set in 1946, the film continues the adventures of Rick O'Connell, his wife Evie, and his son Alex against a different mummy, the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li) of China.
Fourth film
After Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was released, actress Maria Bello stated that another Mummy film will "absolutely" be made, and that she had already signed on.[4] Actor Luke Ford was signed on for three films as well.[5]
On April 4, 2012, Universal Studios announced that they are developing a reboot of the series, with Jon Spaihts to write the film and Sean Daniel who produced the three films, will be returning as producer.[6] On May 1, 2012, Universal signed on with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman a two-year deal to produce the Mummy reboot through their K/O Paper Products banner.[7] On September 24, 2012, it was announced that Universal has set Len Wiseman to direct the film.[8] In December 2012, it was being said that The Mummy reboot will be different from the classic trilogy, it'll be a completely new take on the mythology, and it will be set in present day.[9] On February 14, 2013, Universal set The Hunger Games' writer Billy Ray to write a competitive draft for the Mummy reboot against Spaiths's written script.[10] On July 31, 2013, director Wiseman has left the film project due of schedule conflicts.[11] On September 13, 2013, news reported that Mama's director Andres Muschietti is in talks to direct the film.[12] In October 2013, Orci has spoken to IGN, hinted that both The Mummy and Van Helsing reboots will have a Shared Universe.[13] On November 27, 2013, Universal has set the film for an April 22, 2016 release.[14] On May 6, 2014, director Muschetti left the film due to creative differences, which Spaihts wrote the latest draft of the script, which reimagined The Mummy in modern day with new characters not seen in previous iterations and a protagonist imbued with a human personality.[15] On July 16, 2014, Universal announced that they had tapped Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan to develop all classic movie monsters which include Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, and The Mummy.[16] The first film they will develop together will be The Mummy, for which they had begun the meetings.[16] So on July 30, Kurtzman was set to direct the film.[17] Next day, the film's release date was pushed back to June 24, 2016, when Universal announced the April 22 for its new film The Huntsman.[18] The film's plot is set in Iraq and follows a Navy Seal and his team that battle Mummies led by Ashurbanipal.[19]
The Scorpion King spin-off series (2002–2015)
This spin-off series follows the adventures of Mathayus, who would later be known as the Scorpion King and, eventually, become a foe in The Mummy Returns. The films are as follows:
- The Scorpion King, a 2002 film.
- The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior, a 2008 prequel (direct-to-video) film.
- The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption, a 2012 sequel (direct-to-video) film.
- The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power, a 2015 sequel (direct-to-video) film.
Cast and characters
Crew
| Year | Film | Director | Producer | Writer | Composer | Editor | Cinematographer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Mummy | Stephen Sommers | Sean Daniel James Jacks |
screenplay: Stephen Sommers story: Stephen Sommers Lloyd Fonvielle & Kevin Jarre |
Jerry Goldsmith | Bob Ducsay | Adrian Biddle |
| 2001 | The Mummy Returns | Stephen Sommers | Alan Silvestri | Bob Ducsay Kelly Matsumoto | |||
| 2008 | The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | Rob Cohen | Sean Daniel James Jacks Bob Ducsay Stephen Sommers |
Alfred Gough & Miles Millar | Randy Edelman | Joel Negron Kelly Matsumoto |
Simon Duggan |
Derivative works
Other films
- Tale of the Mummy, a 1998 film directed by Russell Mulcahy and starring Jason Scott Lee.
Novels
- The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned, a 1989 novel by Anne Rice, influenced by The Mummy theme.
Other media
Two video game adaptations of The Mummy (1999) were developed by Rebellion Developments and published by Konami in 2000: an action-adventure game for the PlayStation and PC[20] as well as a Game Boy Color puzzle game.[21] Dreamcast version was announced but later cancelled in the late 2000. The Mummy Returns released in late 2001 for the PlayStation 2 and developed by Blitz Games, the Game Boy Color version was developed by GameBrains, both versions were published by Universal Interactive. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was released in 2008, developed by Eurocom for the PlayStation 2 and the Wii, the Nintendo DS released was developed by A2M, all versions were published by Sierra Entertainment. In March 2012, a massive multiplayer online game known as The Mummy Online was released.
In May 2001, Chaos! Comics released the first of a three issue series inspired by the film, titled 'The Mummy Valley of the Gods'.[22] The plot was supposed to take place between the first film and The Mummy Returns. Rick and Evelyn are on their honeymoon in Egypt and end up embarking on yet another adventure where they must unravel the mysteries of the Orb of Destiny and discover the location of the Valley of the Gods hidden beneath the sands. However, the second and third issues were never published.[23] This was most likely due to Chaos later filing bankruptcy in 2002 and selling the rights to all their titles at that time. Years later in 2008, another Mummy comic series was released by IDW Publishing, spanning four issues. This series was titled 'The Mummy: the Rise and Fall of Xango's Ax'. Unlike the preceding comic series, all of the planned issues were published.[24]
From 2001 until 2003, The Mummy: The Animated Series was made by Universal Animation Studios. It was based on the Stephen Sommers series of films and was set between 1934 and 1935. The series was later renamed The Mummy: Secrets of the Medjai.
The film also inspired a roller coaster ride named Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride in Universal Studios Theme Parks, Florida.[25] Similar rides can also be found in Hollywood and Singapore.[26]
Features in other media
- The Filmation's 1986 animated television series, Ghostbusters, features an overweight villain mummy called Airhead.
- The Sony Pictures Animation 2012 film, Hotel Transylvania, features a mummy, also overweight, called Murray.
References
- ^ a b Slotek, Jim (May 2, 1999). "Unwrapping The Mummy". Toronto Sun.
- ^ The Mummy That Wasn't", Cinescape (May 3, 1999).
- ^ Hobson, Louis B (May 1, 1999). "Universal rolls out new, improved Mummy", Calgary Sun.
- ^ Adler, Shawn (2008-03-10). "'Mummy 3' Star Maria Bello Talks About Taking Over For Rachel Weisz, Fighting An Invisible Baddie". MTV. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^ "Luke Ford Signed For Three 'Mummy' Films". Bloody-Disgusting. 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ Gallagher, Brian (4 April 2012). "'The Mummy' Gets Reboot from 'Prometheus' Writer Jon Spaihts". movieweb.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ^ "Universal Signs Kurtzman And Orci; Pair Takes On 'The Mummy' And 'Van Helsing'". deadline.com. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (24 September 2012). "Len Wiseman Wrapping Up Deal To Helm Universal Reboot Of 'The Mummy'". deadline.com. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "The Mummy Remake to Be an Epic Horror Movie Set in Present Day America". movieweb.com. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ Brodesser-Akner, Claude (14 February 2013). "Starving for Mummy Reboot, Universal Hires Hunger Games Screenwriter to Pen Competing Script". vulture.com. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ Sneider, Jeff (31 July 2013). "Director Len Wiseman Exits 'The Mummy' Reboot at Universal". thewrap.com. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ Kit, Borys (13 September 2013). "'Mama' Director in Talks to Helm 'Mummy' Reboot for Universal". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ Tilly, Chris (18 October 2013). "Bob Orci Discusses Van Helsing Reboot". ign.com. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ "Universal Dates 'The Mummy' Reboot For April 2016, Pushes 'Warcraft' Out Of 'Star Wars' Slot". deadline.com. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ Sneider, Jeff (6 May 2014). "'Mummy' Reboot Loses 'Mama' Director Andy Muschetti". thewrap.com. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
- ^ a b Fleming Jr, Mike (16 July 2014). "Universal Taps Alex Kurtzman, Chris Morgan To Relaunch Classic Movie Monster Franchises". deadline.com. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ Kit, Borys (30 July 2014). "Alex Kurtzman to Direct 'The Mummy' Reboot". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ Perlman, Jake (July 31, 2014). "Universal to release 'The Huntsman' in 2016, pushes back 'The Mummy'". ew.com. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- ^ Williams, Celeb (October 22, 2014). "EXCLUSIVE: First Plot Details on Alex Kurtzman's 'The Mummy' Reboot". Superhero Movies News. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
- ^ "The Mummy (PSX)". IGN. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ "The Mummy (GBC)". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ "The Mummy Valley of the Gods (Issue List)". Comic Collector Live Database. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ^ "The Mummy Valley of the Gods (Issue #2)". Comic Collector Live Database. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ^ "The Mummy: the Rise and Fall of Xango's Ax (Issue List)". Comic Collector Live Database. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ^ Universal Studios Hollywood - Revenge of the Mummy - the Ride
- ^ Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride at Universal Orlando Resort
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