The Mummy – Copyright. Universal Pictures
July is only days away and sadly we have a whole heap of titles to say goodbye toat the start of the month. Three titles we’ll have to say goodbye to is the ever popular The Mummy trilogy. You’ll still be able to watch the trilogy over the weekend but come Monday, July 1st, you’ll no longer be able to stream The Mummy trilogy.
What is The Mummy trilogy?
First debuting in 1999, The Mummy was Universals attempt to relaunch films based on the iconic class movie horror villain. Most of these films were made throughout the 40s and all the way into the 60s. There were films based on the Mummy made throughout the 20th century but none of them had success in revitalizing the genre. But when Universal came round that soon changed.
The film stars Brendan Fraser and actress Rachel Weisz. Fraser’s popularity boomed after starring in The Mummy and Weisz also saw a similar rise in popularity, the latter going on to star in such films like Enemy at the Gates and About a Boy. Produced on a budget of $80 million, the film brought in $400 million at the box office. Two subsequent sequels were produced in 2001 (The Mummy Returns) and 2008 (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor).
It took a further 9 years before Universal would produce another The Mummy film. Rather than continuing the story, it was treated as a reboot that would have taken part in Universal’s now-scrapped Dark Universe.
The Plot
Imhotep, once the High Priest to the Pharoah Seti I, betrayed his lord by having an affair with Anck-su-Namu. When the affair was discovered Imhotep and Anck-su-Namu murdered their Pharoah but the latter sacrificed herself so Imhotep could escape. Vowing to resurrect her, Imhotep’s attempts a ritual to bring her back to life but he is stopped by Pharoah Seti’s bodyguards the Medjai. With his tongue cut out and buried alive with flesh-scarab beetles, Imhotep was left to a fate worse than death.
Thousands of years later in 1920s Egypt, an expedition is sent out into the Saharan Desert to find the ancient city of Hamunaptra. Unknown to those trying to discover the riches inside, Hamunaptra houses an ancient Egyptian evil that had been locked away for the past 3000 years. Accidentally releasing Imhotep from his tomb, the high priest sets his sights on recovering his body and then conquering the world.
When are The Mummy films leaving Netflix?
Sadly, we’ll be saying our goodbyes to The Mummy trilogy on July 1st, 2019!
The Mummy trilogy only returned to Netflix at the beginning of the year so we’re already saying goodbye to them after 6 months!
Is The Mummy (2017) leaving Netflix?
First of all The Mummy (2017) isn’t actually on Netflix US.
Currently, the only regions streaming the franchise reboot are the following:
- Australia
- Greece
- Israel
- Lithuania
- Poland
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
Why is The Mummy trilogy leaving Netflix?
As it will be six months to the day that the films have been on Netflix, the streaming service would only have had a six-month contract in place. This isn’t unusual for Netflix to sign short term licenses but typically Netflix would license titles for of least 12 months.
It is worth noting that The Mummy belongs to Universal Pictures who in turn are owned by NBCUniversal. With NBC intending to release their own streaming service in the future its unlikely that Netflix will be picking up any NBC or Universal titles for the long term.
Will The Mummy trilogy be available to stream elsewhere?
Eventually, the films are likely to appear on NBC’s own streaming service when it goes live. There’s every chance Netflix could renew the license for another six months. If Netflix isn’t renewing the license then Hulu or Amazon Prime are likely destinations.
Will you be sad to see The Mummy films leave Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
