Rebooted franchise specialists Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will reboot Van Helsing and The Mummy franchises

By Sean O'Neal | May 1, 2012 | 5:51pm

Aux Features Film

Fresh off of signing on to franchise up the Spider-Man sequel and make it real good and franchisey, franchise frères Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have also signed a two-year production deal to give Universal the first look at all their future franchises, as well as adapt their skills with reboots and franchises to taking over the studio's franchise reboots of The Mummy and Van Helsing franchises, which had until now been so disenfranchised. Universal's press release also confirms that Tom Cruise—rumored to star in a new Van Helsing since 2010, before Guillermo Del Toro backed out—is now officially on board to co-produce and star in its "reimagining," with Kurtzman and Orci reimagining a film about the famed monster hunter where he's smaller than Hugh Jackman and he doesn't have anything to do with writer-director Stephen Sommers, basically.

That recently announced reboot of the reboot of The Mummy imagines a similar, Sommers-less world, with Kurtzman and Orci collaborating with original producer Sean Daniel and writer John Spaihts on a newer new version of the classic monster tale, while former franchise king Sommers comes to terms with the fact he's been out-franchised by Kurtzman and Orci. Expect to see the reboots of these franchises hitting a theater franchise near you by the rise of the franchise moon, which is an acceptable measure of time now.