comScore
  1. Mediaite
  2. Gossip Cop
  3. Geekosystem
  4. Styleite
  5. SportsGrid
  6. The Mary Sue
  7. The Jane Dough
  8. The Braiser

BAD IDEAS FROM SMART PEOPLE

We Didn’t Ask For This: Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman Producing Reboots of The Mummy and Van Helsing

by Jamie Frevele | 4:20 pm, May 1st, 2012


Remember that time I said it wasn’t worth complaining about reboots because there was absolutely no way of avoiding them? Get ready to halt any complaining now, because it was just announced that the Star Trek screenwriting dream team Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman will be serve as producers on reboots of The Mummy franchise as well as Van Helsing. Because, as we have all figured out, there is no reason to create original characters anymore, just take old ones and write new scripts.

It’s fan fiction, everyone. Hollywood has officially turned into a factory of big-budget fan fiction. By the way: Van Helsing will star Tom Cruise, so now it’s fan fiction and celebrities engaging in cosplay. Yup. Go ahead — try to deny that’s what it is.

Universal Pictures is behind the two-year deal with Orci and Kurtzman, who were also just announced as the writers of the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man. In a press release, the exclusive deal outlines reboots for The Mummy — which starred Brendan Fraser and produced the spinoff The Scorpion King — and Van Helsing, which was going to rebooted by Guillermo Del Toro, but he abandoned the project when he was unable to get the budget he wanted. Cruise was attached to that project, too, which was supposed to have an R-rating, but Universal wouldn’t give that to Del Toro, either. But yeah — Tom Cruise would like to play a vampire again, and he is attached to star and co-produce the reboot.

So, now we have even more Mummy movies and a PG-13 Van Helsing movie starring Tm Cruise to look forward to. Great. I guess the silver lining in this extravaganza of unoriginality is that Orci and Kurtzman are really fun screenwriters who are frequent collaborators of geek icon J.J. Abrams. With Abrams, they successfully — and fantastically — brought back Star Trek and breathed new life into the Mission: Impossible franchise with their Ghost Protocol script. (And yes, Tom Cruise starred in that, too.) Now, they’re getting the chance to sit at the big chair and control the big picture, choosing their own directors and screenwriters. Right now, they’re adapting Ender’s Game for the big screen (as producers), with tons more projects in their lineup.

The duo are certainly ready to break out on their own beyond the screenwriting game, at which they have proven they have a golden touch. Will they finally make calls that will prevent future reboots of The Mummy and Van Helsing? Better yet, will this lead to something … original?

(via Collider)

Previously in Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman

TAGS: | | | | | | |


  • Francesca M

    I was like ‘oh Van Helsing might be better that would be a good thing’ and then I saw mention of Tom Cruise and I’m like ‘oh.. never mind’ 

  • Anonymous

     Yeah, I didn’t mind the movie but it would have been easy to improve upon … but PG-13 and mister Scientology are a combination to make it go in the completely opposite direction.  Peter Cushing must be spinning in his grave …

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BJ65LLJI6OOKT7NR4SLMWO2XZA Dazee

    Cue ‘I don’t want to live on this planet anymore’ meme right here.

    Van Helsing was.. pretty bad, even from a ‘It’s campy!’ sense. I was kind of thinking along the lines of Francesca “Oh, maybe they’ll make it g- oh.. Tom Cruise.. okay…”

    But the Mummy? Unless they’re redoing the old 1932 one, The Mummy isn’t so old it needs a reboot. It was also very good. Well, the first one (in my opinion) I can take or very leave the others. I think there should be a time limit on a movie reboot (of a remake).. Like.. 25 to 30 years or something.

  • Anonymous

     Yes!!

  • Anonymous

     I agree, The Mummy was excellent (sequels — terrible) it will be very hard to outdo it.

  • Katie Marinelli

    Liked the original Mummy. Sequels were meh. And I agree with you on the time limit. If I am twenty and remember seeing it then it isn’t time to make a new one yet.

  • Anonymous

    You left out the rather salient fact that Kurtzman & Orci are also the geniuses responsible for the live-action Transformers films.  Just sayin’.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R7GVNIKWG3S2UTHEQOMSZXT4M4 Anna B

    The only Van Helsing I care about is the one that has Alucard in it.

  • Anonymous

    “The Mummy” was fantastic and needs to be left the hell alone. Additionally, sorry, but there needs to be a gap between originals and reboots. Like, a generation gap. Hence the reason reboots are so damned successful in the first place. The fact that they’re “rebooting” Spiderman at all considering how recently the franchise was adapted is idiotic. NEW IDEAS PLEASE. Or heck, there are tons of books out there if no one can be arsed to come up with something original.

  • Anonymous

    like Dawn explained I cant believe that any body can make $7571 in 4 weeks on the computer. did you read this site===>>http://must2visit.blogspot.com 

  • http://taste-is-sweet.livejournal.com/ Taste_is_Sweet

    I thought the original “Mummy” movie was fantastic and really doesn’t need a reboot, but Van Helsing sucked, so if it can get the Star Trek treatment that would actually be pretty cool.

    But I’m totally with you on the fanfiction thing.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jodi.scaife Jodi Scaife

     I have to agree that Van Helsing just wasn’t…good.  I wanted to love it, but it made Baby Jesus and several small animals cry.

X