Universal’s plan to bring their expansive catalog of monsters back to the big screen has hit another speed bump, as The Wrap reports that director Andres Muschietti has left the reboot of The Mummy due to “creative differences.” He is now the second director to depart the project, after Len Wiseman abandoned ship last August.
Apparently, Muschietti and Universal disagreed on which path the reboot should take. The director, who helmed the surprise hit Mama for the studio last year, was hoping to deliver a darker, scarier tale than the “four-quadrant, family-friendly action-adventure tentpole” that Universal is going for. A new director will likely be brought on soon, and will be working with a script from Jon Spaihts that will supposedly give the franchise a contemporary spin with completely new characters. As for Muschietti, the studio still wants to work with him again, and according to The Wrap, he’s in discussions for a few of their other projects.
The Mummy is only one film in Universal’s long-term plan to mine their catalog of classic monsters, which hasn’t been easy for them so far. 2010’s The Wolfman was a dud, and we’re still waiting to see how Dracula Untold fares when it hits theaters in October. Though they’re facing a bit of a setback now with this particular project, I’m still confident that they’ll be able to get it off the ground. The previous Mummy films all did tremendously well at the box office and despite already losing two directors, I don’t think they’ll have much trouble finding a third.
Tell us, are you sad to see Andres Muschietti leave The Mummy reboot? Or would you rather see someone else direct it? Let us know in the comments section below.