How X-Men's Apocalypse Affected The Mummy

12/08/2016 06:13 pm EST

And exactly one year ago, it was revealed that Sofia Boutella — the 34-year-old actressbest known for her standout roles in Kings: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond — landed the title role in The Mummy, the first entry in the Universal Monster-verse being constructed by director/producer Alex Kurtzman and producer Chris Morgan.

In a recent interview, Kurtzman revealed that he and morgan hadn't planned on going with a female monster right out of the gate. "There was a moment when I had sort of rendered a design that I liked for a male version of The Mummy," he told Cinema Blend. "And in that version of The Mummy, the Mummy had been born with a skin pigmentation that at the time would have made him really sort of an outcast. And I thought it was an interesting backstory, because it began to tell the story of someone who had been bullied, which I found topical. I was reaching for a way to make the Mummy a character who is relatable, understandable, and that spoke to issues that we're dealing with now."

However, once he saw how the young Apocalypse (a.k.a. En Sabah Nur) looked in the after-credits scene of Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), he knew he to make major alterations to his Mummy.

"And they had the character that Oscar Isaac wound up playing as a boy, and it was, I kid you not, the exact same design," he shared. "And I was like, 'Oh, man! That is not good!' And actually it was the catalyst, it was the moment of, 'Okay, not only is this not going to be different enough, Bryan Singer just did it, I definitely don't want to go down that road.' I had had that voice in my head for some time to make it a woman, and that was the moment where, the minute I saw that post-credits scene, I went, 'We have to start over.' I don't want to mess around even remotely with anything that feels familiar or feels like it's been done. I have to go in totally new territory.'"

Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy.

Thought safely entombed in a crypt deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient queen (Sofia Boutella) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.

From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters.

The cast features Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher, Top Gun), Russell Crowe (The Nice Guys, Gladiator), and Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Star Trek Beyond), as well as Courtney B. Vance (The People Vs. O.J. Simpson), Annabelle Wallis (Annabelle, Peaky Blinders), Marwan Kenzari (Ben-Hur), and Jake Johnson (New Girl, Jurassic World).

Alex Kurtzman, the screenwriter and producer behind Star Trek Into Darkness and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, is on board to make his directorial debut, working off of a script penned by Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, Doctor Strange).

MORE: Tom Cruise's The Mummy Trailer Released / Tom Cruise's Mummy Trailer Teaser Released / Luke Evans Updates Fans On Universal's Monster Universe Crossover / Van Helsing Reboot To Take Place In Universal Monsters Universe / Alex Kurtzman Says The Mummy Reboot Is Not Connected To Dracula Untold

The Mummy will lumber into theaters June 9, 2017.

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