Alex Kurtzman has been the guiding hand at building Universal’s creature feature reboot of the “Dark Universe” though with the disappointing box office returns of ‘The Mummy’ his future there seems uncertain. Kurtzman and Chris Morgan were the two largest guiding forces behind this new cinematic endeavor which hoped to build a cinematic universe of horror though it looks like Kurtzman’s involvement could be over. While the final numbers haven’t been revealed, it looks like ‘The Mummy’ might have been a $95 million loss for the studio even with the inclusions of Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe, who weren’t able to save the film from mediocrity.
Kurtzman was recently asked about his future in the “Dark Universe’ while out promoting ‘Star Trek: Discovery.’ First, he spoke about when he knows it is time to exit a franchise:
“I have to stay interested in it. I have to feel like my passion is there for it. I think in the case of Star Trek if your passion isn’t there you shouldn’t be doing it.”
This led into his future on working on the “Dark Universe” for Universal:
“You know the truth is, I don’t know. I really don’t know. Haven’t really decided, is the honest answer.”
Honestly, for many that news is actually a good thing for those wishing for an actual horror cinematic world and not movies that are just serving as vehicles for current Hollywood stars and not the monsters themselves. Kurtzman is still officially attached as a producer to ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’, ‘The Invisible Man’, and ‘The Creature from the Black Lagoon’ though now it is unclear on how involved that he’ll be with them. While he didn’t mention that he hasn’t “really decided,” you have to wonder how much of this is also in the studio’s hands.
In another instance, he was recently asked if the films might be changed to target foreign audiences who had a bigger draw with ‘The Mummy’ and he stated:
“It’s hard for me to know, is the truth. I think every movie will be different. I certainly know that the legacy of the monsters have endured across the world throughout the years. Almost a century. So I have to believe American audiences will find it too with the right ingredients.”
Source: IGN
