by: S. Scott Stanikmas – Senior Staff Writer

If Universal is looking for star power for its upcoming monster reboot films then by current rumors the studio has taken a big step in the right direction.

Variety is reporting that Universal is looking at Tom Cruise to star in its latest incarnation of The Mummy. But the deal isn’t set in stone just yet.

Deadline reported that comments from Cruise’s camp and the reps at Universal have said that “no deal with Cruise is in the works for the film.” This doesn’t mean Universal won’t pursue the action star – it just means nothing official has been brought forth at the current moment.

Director Alex Kurtzman and writer John Spaihts have said that they have two versions of the film ready to go – one with a male mummy and one with a female lead – so that they can go with the right actor for the job and not be hindered by gender.

Universal has The Mummy penciled in for March 24, 2017, with updated versions of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman and all of their classic monster characters to follow, all leading up to a big film with all the monsters – a sort-of horror version of The Avengers.

For now, let’s just see how the newest take on the classic Boris Karloff character goes before we start looking at other properties though.