Universal Pictures wants The Mummy resurrected, and they want it fast.

It looks like all engines are go for Len Wiseman (Underworld, Total Recall remake) to direct the rebooted franchise, with a release date sometime in summer 2014.

Jon Spaihts is drafting the screenplay, and Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (Transformers trilogy, Star Trek) will produce.

The Brendan Fraser trilogy grossed $1.25 billion at the box-office, so it’s not much of a mystery as to why the studio has sudden hot feet on the property.

Director Wiseman describes the reboot:

“When I first heard Universal was relaunching this, that is the image that popped into my head, the period tale, the old monster, but when Bob and Alex pitched it, there was a great new take and approach, and a very different mummy as well. It’s a darker twist on the material, a scarier version.”

Producer Kurtzman clarifies:

“We’re reaching into the deep roots of The Mummy, which at its beating heart is a horror movie and then an action movie, and putting it into a context that is real and emotional [...] Without saying too much, we’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from Michael Crichton’s books, and how he ground fantastical tales in modern-day science.”

Source: Deadline NY