Big screen release dates continue to change in the wake of the announcement that Walt Disney Pictures has moved Star Wars: Episode VIII from May to December. Now, Universal Pictures has shifted the placement of one of their 2017 tentpoles. The Mummy reboot, originally scheduled for release on March 24, 2017, will now hit the big screen nearly three months later on June 9.
A legend that has endured since the dawn of man is reborn in The Mummy, Universal Pictures’ all-new epic action-adventure starring Tom Cruise and co-starring Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service). The Mummy is directed by Alex Kurtzman, who also produces alongside Roberto Orci, Chris Morgan (Fast & Furious series, Wanted) and Sean Daniel (The Mummy trilogy, The Best Man series). Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) wrote the screenplay, and Bobby Cohen executive produces.
The original monster was made famous on the big screen by Boris Karloff in Karl Freund’s 1932 feature. Subsequent sequels to the original The Mummy saw Tom Tyler (who played Captain Marvel/Shazam in the original 1941 serials) and later Lon Chaney Jr. playing a different mummy than the one Karloff played. Stephen Sommers’ more recent The Mummy and The Mummy Returns films set Arnold Vosloo in the title role. Jet Li then played the villain in Rob Cohen’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
The June 9 date will have The Mummy opening opposite both Paramount Pictures‘ World War Z sequel and the finale of Lionsgate‘s The Divergent Series, Ascendant. World War Z recently lost its director, however, so don’t be too surprised if it ultimately moves to a different date.
The departure of The Mummy from March makes Lionsgate’s Power Rangers movie the only major release currently slotted for March 24, 2017.
