There are high hopes that the latest remake of The Mummy will propel a whole new franchise of films for Universal, utilizing their library of classic monsters.
We’ve already heard about plans for the Dark Universe which include Johnny Depp as the Invisible Man and Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s Monster. But Tom Cruise‘s latest film might have brought a previous iteration into the fold as well.
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This version of The Mummy has a contemporary setting, taking place in the modern day, while the first film in the series starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz was set in 1923. An easter egg in the new film hints that both films take place in the same continuity.
Cruise’s character Nick Morton meets with Dr. Jekyll, played by Russell Crowe, at his headquarters for the Prodigium, the organization that protects the world against supernatural threats. The scene serves to establish the connective tissue between other Dark Universe movies, with Crowe’s character serving to play the Nick Fury character. Only Fury doesn’t Hulk out and want to kill everyone.
Jekyll transforms into Hyde in the scene, causing a big fight between the monster and Morton. The Prodigium goes into lockdown with Annabelle Wallis’ character Jenny Halsey separated from her ally Morton, and she attempts to help him. One of the Prodigium members attempts to stop her in an attempt to save her life, and she ends up fighting him off using one of the ancient books in the 1999 film.
In that film, the Book of the Dead and the Book of Living were magical tomes created in ancient Egypt. The former is accidentally used to resurrect the threat of Imhotep, the titular mummy.
The book is distinct due to the star-shaped lock, requiring a special key to unleash it—and it is clearly visible in the scene in which Halsey clocks the goon.
It’s a clever nod to the original films and one that only enriches the Dark Universe the film studio is attempting to build.
Unfortunately, Tom Cruise’s version of the film doesn’t seem to have the box office power that Brendan Fraser’s movie did. So who knows if we’ll ever see any followup to this easter egg.
The Mummy is in theaters now.
MORE Mummy News:
- The Mummy Ending Explained
- What The New Mummy Stole From The Original
- How Dark Universe Needs to Update Universal Monsters
- Dark Universe Full Cast & Trailer Revealed
[h/t] CinemaBlend
