WATCH: The Mummy trailer has unwrapped along with details and images

The first trailer (and synopsis and images) has arrived for Tom Cruise’s The Mummy…

And it’s certainly an entertaining piece of cinema, laced with magic, monsters, CGI and Cruise running a lot… which we expected.

However, something that did pop out at us (apart from Russell Crowe as Dr Jeykl) was the tagline in the poster: WELCOME TO A NEW WORLD OF GODS AND MONSTERS.

New world? But didn’t this new Universal Monsters shared universe start with 2014’s Dracula Untold? Wasn’t there even a scene filmed that would begin the building of the universe (here)?

Well, sorry Luke Evans, but it seems that’s no longer the case.

Chatting to Collider, director Alex Kurtzman confirmed that The Mummy is the official beginning of the shared universe.

Speaking about the inclusion of Crowe as Jeykl, the director said: “In looking to figure out how to place The Mummy in a larger context and setting up this organization that has actually been dealing with monsters for longer than any of us have been around, it became clear that we needed somebody to be the voice of that organization. The next thought was like, “Well, it could be Joe Mcgillicuddy, or we could actually go into another character that makes sense organically.”

(Continues after pic)

“It was a real point of conversation with Tom. If we’re going to bring in Henry Jekyll, how is bringing Henry Jekyll into the mummy story not a detractor from the mummy story? How does Henry Jekyll become part of this story in an organic way? And part of what Tom’s character, Nick, learns about the mummy and about the history of the mummy comes through Jekyll’s very deep understanding of monsters and how monsters have existing quietly in this world for eons.”

Asked then if, as previously reported, Dracula Untold was the beginning of the story, if it’s canon, he simply replied ‘no’.

Interesting that Evans’ Dracula is now, ahem, dead and buried… we expect therefore that we can expect a new Dracula sooner rather than later; after all, you can’t have the Universal Monsters with out the king Vampire.

And we already know that Javier Bardem is already signed on as Frankenstein’s Monster and Johnny Depp will be The Invisible Man, so Dracula or not, the universe is already well under way.

Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy.

Thought safely entombed in a tomb deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient princess (Sofia Boutella of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.

From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters.

Cruise is joined by a cast including Annabelle Wallis (upcoming King Arthur, television’s Peaky Blinders), Jake Johnson (Jurassic World), Courtney B. Vance (TV’s American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson) and Oscar® winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator).

The creative team on this action-adventure event is led by director/producer Alex Kurtzman and producer Chris Morgan, who have been instrumental in growing some of the most successful franchises of the past several years—with Kurtzman writing or producing entries in the Transformers, Star Trek and Mission: Impossible series, and Morgan being the narrative engineer of the Fast & Furious saga as it has experienced explosive growth from its third chapter on. Sean Daniel, who produced the most recent Mummy trilogy, produces alongside Kurtzman and Morgan. www.themummy.com

Also, check out all these new images from the (trailer) movie thanks to Collider: