The Mummy remake rumoured for Malta shoot

After 13 Hours, Malta may yet again play stand-in to a war-torn North African region, though this time the focus will be on the stars and the special effects spectacle, as a remake of the popular Mummy movies - allegedly starring Tom Cruise - is rumoured to have picked Malta as at least one of its locations ahead its 2017 release.

The Times of Malta reports that Cruise, who was at one point even rumoured to be buying property on the island, may be heading to Malta to shoot the latest iteration of the enduring Mummy franchise - which, according to a synopsis on IMDB.com, will this time take place in modern-day Iraq and follow a team of soldiers stumbling across the ancient undead curse as they search for terrorists in the beleaguered region. 

The news comes in the wake of The Malta Film Commission's publication of a National Film Policy, which clearly prioritises film servicing for productions such as this one, over fostering an indigenous film industry.

READ MORE: Rumours of Tom Cruise buying Malta villa shot down (2012)

The iconic Boris Karloff/Peter Cushing film cemented The Mummy as a horror classic back in 1932, and director Stephen Sommers resurrected the franchise as a summer popcorn flick in 1999 - spawning two sequels and a spinoff movie, The Scorpion King. The new film will be directed by Alex Kurtzman - a screenwriter, producer and director with a varied filmography that ranges across both film and TV.

Sofia Boutella as the murderous 'Gazelle' in Kingsman: The Secret Service

IMDB also has it that the film will co-star Sofia Boutella in an as-yet unspecified role - though going by the franchise’s tropes, it may be likely to speculate that the French-Algerian actress will take on something resembling a ‘high priestess’ role. A dancer by training, Boutella starred in the dance film Street Dance 2 before garnering international attention thanks to her turn as the blade-legged ‘Gazelle’ in Kingsman: The Secret Service. 

Though Cruise has allegedly been in talks to star in The Mummy for quite some time, Universal Pictures have yet to confirm the cast list. If it goes ahead as planned - the film is slated for a 2017 release - the film will form part of Universal’s efforts to create an interconnected cinematic universe based on the classic monster characters the studio is associated with, such as Dracula and The Wolfman.

However, this teratological variant of what Marvel Studios and DC Comics’s movie arm is doing with its Avengers and ‘Batman vs Superman’ properties has yet to kick off with any conviction, as its initial attempts in this department were non-starters, with neither The Wolfman (2010) nor Dracula Untold (2014) garnering impressive box office and critical acclaim.