Today, it was announced that Lee Cronin’s latest venture at New Line Cinema will revive the classic horror character of The Mummy. This marks a notable shift, as the rights to such creature features have traditionally been handled by Universal Pictures.
Throughout the 1930s to the early 1950s, Universal Pictures dominated the horror genre, largely due to its extensive collection of monsters derived from literary classics like Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man. The accessibility of these public domain stories has allowed various studios—including Netflix, which is set to produce a new film based on Frankenstein—to explore their own adaptations.
The original 1932 film, The Mummy, presented a unique storyline and kept the Mummy-related films largely in the realm of Universal, with Hammer Films’ 1959 take starring Christopher Lee as a significant exception. With the announcement of New Line’s fresh take on The Mummy, the studio has secured an ironic but welcome victory, placing this iconic character into capable hands for a modern audience.
A Major Win for New Line and Horror Enthusiasts
Lee Cronin’s upcoming version of The Mummy, which is co-produced alongside Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions and James Wan’s Atomic Monster, brings excitement, particularly since Universal’s interest in the franchise had waned. Their previous attempt in 2017 to reinvent The Mummy ended disastrously, as it was meant to kickstart a larger “Dark Universe,” but ultimately fell flat in both critical and commercial terms.
Witness the beginning of a #DarkUniverse. pic.twitter.com/8g9eIbQfGa
— #DarkUniverse (@darkuniverse) May 22, 2017
Since that time, Universal has strategically shifted gears, finding renewed success with Leigh Whannell’s 2020 reimagining of The Invisible Man. This approach has moved away from ambitious interconnected universes, allowing for standalone horror films, including the upcoming Wolf Man remake set for release in 2025, which is also produced by Blumhouse.
Although specific details regarding the plot of Cronin’s Mummy have yet to be disclosed, he asserts that, “This will be unlike any Mummy movie you ever laid eyeballs on before. I’m digging deep into the earth to raise something very ancient and very frightening,” as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Lee Cronin is a compelling choice to direct this fresh vision of The Mummy. His recent work, Evil Dead Rise, was successfully released in theaters, earning about $146 million on a modest $15 million budget, showcasing his talent in the horror genre.
New Line’s decision to bring Cronin onboard for this project signals a strong strategic move. As a subdivision of Warner Bros., New Line has a legacy of introducing iconic horror villains, including Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street and the malevolent spirits from The Conjuring series.
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