For some time, we’ve known that Universal Pictures has been hard at work creating a “cinematic universe” akin to Marvel Studios that will include its classic roster of monsters. You know the ones. Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s monster, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, and so on. Those characters were HUGE in their day, and Hollywood has long had an obsession with trying to reinvent them for modern audiences. As such, they’ve hired a group of writers to work in an almost TV-series like production cycle where everyone collaborates to create one cohesive slate of films that features these iconic monsters.

The Hollywood Reporter has now revealed one of the ideas that may have come out of Universal’s creative incubator: When this Universe’s “Phase One” begins with The Mummy, we may be surprised to see that it’s a woman donning those cloth wraps. 

According to THR, director Alex Kurtzman and writer Jordan Spaihts are open to the idea of gender-bending the character made famous by Boris Karloff in the 1932 original. Apparently, the deciding factor will be finding the right person for the role, regardless of their sex. They’ve apparently got two versions of script, ready to go in either direction depending on how the casting process goes when it becomes in the next few months. 

Interesting, eh? 

Other major franchises that have shifted their focus towards female protagonists of late are Ghostbusters– which will be led by four actress when it comes out next year- and Star Wars. While Princess Leia was seemingly the only woman in that galaxy far, far away during the original trilogy, Daisy Ridley’s Rey is expected to be a central figure in the next few films. So this potential move wouldn’t be altogether shocking.

Totally unrelated: Something I’ve always found intriguing- cause I’m a dork- is: By today’s standards, it’s pretty wild to think that Karloff played both The Mummy AND Frankenstein’s monster. And with only a year separating them. Can you imagine DC releasing a film with Dwayne Johnson as Green Lantern, and then a year later another film where he’s Lobo? That kind of stuff is just funny to me, how things have changed.

Anyway. Discuss the possibility of a female mummy below!

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter