Universal Pictures' highly ambitious Monster Movie Universe has already signed two of the biggest, if not the biggest, movie stars in the world in Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp, have courted other A-listers in Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson, and now, they're on the verge of potentially adding an Academy Award-winning talent - Russell Crowe.
Deadline broke the news earlier this afternoon that Crowe had entered early talks with Universal to join The Mummy, which is currently filming in London, and while they didn't provide details on his role, The Hollywood Reporter was able to reveal that if his deal closes, he'll be portraying the tormented Dr. Jekyll and his murderous alter-ego Mr. Hyde, which should be exciting news for fans of the genre. The extent of his role in The Mummy is uncertain, but it's being described as a cameo that could potentially expand into his own solo feature.
It should be noted that Crowe is still in very early negotiations and talks could break down at any given moment, similar to what happened with Michael Keaton (Spotlight) & Spider-Man: Homecoming. Prior to approaching Crowe, Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road) was the frontrunner for the role before talks for his deal fell apart. According to Variety, Universal then considered Javier Bardem (Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Snowden) before making an offer to Crowe.
In addition to Cruise, who's playing a former special forces soldier, The Mummy will feature Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) as the titular villain, Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders), Jake Johnson (Jurassic World), and Courtney B. Vance (The People v. O.J. Simpson). Alex Kurtzman (People Like Us) is directing with a script from Jon Spaihts (Doctor Strange). The film is slated for a June 9, 2017 release date and Universal has staked out April 13, 2018 and February 15, 2019 as future monster movies, with one of them expected to be the Depp-led Invisible Man.
Crowe can be seen next alongside Ryan Gosling in the Shane Black-directed action/comedy The Nice Guys, which is due out May 20.
So, what do you guys think? Sound off with your thoughts below!
The Mummy hits theaters June 9, 2017
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