Tom Cruise as Van Helsing in yet another reboot?

[The Infidel]

from tgdaily.com:

Posted on May 3, 2012 - 16:55 by David Konow

The screenwriters from Team Abrams have been doing very well for themselves these days.



By Team Abrams, I mean the writers who came up working with JJ Abrams on Alias and Lost, and have gone to to really big stuff in Hollywood. Damon Lindelof, co-creator of Lost, has Prometheus coming up in June, and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have written the Transformers films, as well as the Abrams Star Trek flicks, Cowboys and Aliens, and more.

Kurtzman and Orci have been setting up a number of new projects lately, including an adaptation of Anne Rice's The Body Thief, which they'll be producing, along with a reboot of the current Mummy series and Van Helsing.

Yes, both franchises that were launched by director Steven Somers are coming back with the help of Kurtzman and Orci, and Tom Cruise is coming along to play Van Helsing himself.

This is part of Kurtzman and Orci's production deal at Universal, and as Collider tells us, Tom Cruise will be playing the famous monster hunter, and will co-produce as well. As you may recall, Cruise was going to star in Guilermo Del Toro's dream project, At the Mountains of Madness at Universal, because the budget would have been huge for a horror film, and for that price, the studio wanted a PG-13 rating, which Del Toro couldn't guaruntee.

In the horror realm, you would think The Mummy and Van Helsing would be a safer bet, but as much as those films made a lot of money, they were pretty crapola, and had way too much wall to wall CGI. What we're trying to say is this leaves the work of Cruise, Kurtzman, Orci cut out for them, because if they're going to bring these franchises back, they should be much better than the originals.

Being a fan of the classic Universal monster flicks, I loved when they did the "monster rally" films in the '40s when they brought all of them together in House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, my personal favorite monster mash, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Doing an old fashioned, Universal style film today could be a lot of fun today in the right hands, so here's hoping this Hollywood power tag-team can pull it together.

BTW, Kurtzman and Orci also have another big flick on their dance cards, the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man, which already got the greenlight from Sony before the first installment of the rebooted franchise comes out on July 3.

The second Spider-Man flick is slated for a May 2, 2014 release, and production is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2013. James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) wrote the first draft of the script, and Kurtzman and Orci are being called in to re-write the screenplay before production is ready to roll.

[Vipper II]

Cruise? Team Abrams? My interest is piqued.

[RocShemp]

I'm interested. But Cruise is too young for Van Helsing. Unless they're going for the action hero vibe from the last movie. That or a prequel that ends with an epilogue of an older Van Helsing being asked to consult with a strange medical case.

[argh923]

Sigh. They REALLY need to stop rebooting movies/series that have been released in the past 10-15 years. So stupid.

[Ash Ketchum]

I think they should remake Dracula instead, with Cruise in that role. And Jason Statham should play Van Helsing opposite him.

[KillerCannibal]

I have the utmost confidence that - at the least - there's no way this can be a bigger piece of shit than Jackman's Van Helsing.

[Groucho]

I'm still pissed about the 1931 Dracula reboot.

[Why So Blu?]

As long as they don't make Van Helsing look like Solomon Kane appearance wise, I'll give it a shot.

[Shannon Nutt]

Originally Posted by RocShemp

I'm interested. But Cruise is too young for Van Helsing. Unless they're going for the action hero vibe from the last movie. That or a prequel that ends with an epilogue of an older Van Helsing being asked to consult with a strange medical case.

Cruise will be 50 in July...how old does Van Helsing need to be? Harrison Ford age?

Actually, I'd prefer a Van Helsing that's less superhero than the Hugh Jackman version...but with these guys involved, I'm sure it will be more like the Hugh Jackman version than the Anthony Hopkins one.

[Super X]

Van Helsing I can understand. That movie was eminently forgettable. But The Mummy? Isn't it a little soon to be rebooting that? I understand the desire for enduring franchises, but in this case, they would be better off letting it sit a little while, developing new franchises, then bring it back when the last one isn't still fresh in people's memories.

[Draven]

Seriously, who's wanting another Van Helsing? I can't believe there aren't a million other properties out there with a lot more interest.

I mean goddammit, make a Rainbow Six movie instead. Anything but a property no one wanted the first time.

[devilshalo]

The only Van Helsing movie I want to see is Jason Segel's Dracula's Lament.

[TomOpus]

Originally Posted by KillerCannibal

I have the utmost confidence that - at the least - there's no way this can be a bigger piece of shit than Jackman's Van Helsing.

This is the kind of movie that SHOULD be rebooted rather than a good, successful movie.

I hope this is successful so the studios might focus on redoing crappy films. No where to go but up, right? heh.

[majorjoe23]

Originally Posted by RocShemp

I'm interested. But Cruise is too young for Van Helsing. Unless they're going for the action hero vibe from the last movie. That or a prequel that ends with an epilogue of an older Van Helsing being asked to consult with a strange medical case.

He's not that much younger than Anthony Hopkins was when he played Van Helsing in Dracula.

Of course, Cruise gives off a much younger vibe than Hopkins ever has.

[Hokeyboy]

How old was Peter Cushing when he first played Van Helsing? That was a good 20 years before Star Wars came out. I'm sure Cruise is fine.

[Ash Ketchum]

Originally Posted by Hokeyboy

How old was Peter Cushing when he first played Van Helsing? That was a good 20 years before Star Wars came out. I'm sure Cruise is fine.

Cushing was about 45 or 46. Cruise is older than that now, but Cushing had a certain gravitas that Cruise may not yet have.

[Michael Corvin]

No Kate Beckinsale in skintight leather = no sale