Tom Cruise’s 2017 version of The Mummy isn’t just a franchise reboot, it’s the launchpad for an entire franchise universe – specifically Universal’s Dark Universe.
With Dark Universe, Universal Pictures attempting to create a cinematic universe that blends action and horror – using iconic creatures and monsters from the Universal Pictures vault. The Mummy goes to considerable lengths to not only (re)tell the story of how ancient Egyptian evil returns to threaten the world, but also establish the foundation and connective threats of the larger Dark Universe to come.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The end of The Mummy‘s rebooted story may leave some viewers confused about the overall arc of the film, and how it sets up the Dark Universe franchise to move forward. To help cut through that confusion, here is The Mummy’s Ending Explained.
Photo Booth: Universal Pictures
A New Evil (Sort of) Rises
In the climatic finale of The Mummy, Tom Cruise’s Nick Morton faces off against the evil princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) in a Templar Knight tomb beneath London. After Ahmanet kills Nick’s love interest, Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), Nick chooses to make an impossible sacrifice, to save her life.
As the man who released Ahmanet from her prison, Nick is forever cursed to serve as the vessel for Set, the Egyptian God of Death. Set gave Ahmanet her power, in order for the evil princess to use a mystical dagger and to murder her chosen lover, thereby giving Set human form. Naturally, Nick spends most of The Mummy’s runtime trying to avoid this fate – however, remembering that Set has power over both death and life, Nick what must be done.
Instead of letting Ahmanet strike the blow with the dagger, Nick steals the mystical artifact from her and plunges it into his own heart. Set gets to inhabit Nick’s body, but thanks to his sacrifice, Nick is still able to keep his consciousness intact, in order to willfully use Set’s power to bring Jenny back to life. When Jenny wakes, Nick is hiding in the shadows, unwilling to let her see him. Like Ahmanet, Set’s evil power has changed him into something monstrous. Nick establishes that he and Set are now constantly wrestling for control over his body – a curse Jenny knows Nick must now carry forever.
In the end, Nick uses his power to resurrect his buddy Chris (Jake Johnson), and together they go back to searching for adventure in the Middle Eastern region of the world.
What It Means for the Dark Universe
Tom Cruise’s Nick Morton is now established as the second anti-heroic monster figure in the Dark Universe franchise – the first being Russell Crowe’s Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, who serves an important role in Prodigum, the secret society of supernatural scholars/monster hunters.
Cursed to forever wrestle with the Egyptian god Set over control of his consciousness, Nick vows to try to something good with his immense powers. As the rest of the Dark Universe cinematic universe takes shape, Nick could logically become an important MacGuffin in the saga – an all-powerful figure that both sides, light and dark, seek to control in order to further their own, respective, ends.
However, the curve ball in that scenario is what Nick wants for himself. As an international thief and con man during his previous life, Nick has the cunning to not be played or used by either side of the coming conflict – especially when it comes to furthering his own agenda of breaking the curse.
MORE Mummy News:
