The screenwriting duo known as Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have been behind some of the biggest blockbusters of recent years. Everything from TRANSFORMERS to STAR TREK to COWBOYS AND ALIENS has had at least some of it written by these two. The writer/producer pair has now signed a two year first look deal with Universal.

Their first two projects out of the gate may surprise you. First up is the reboot of THE MUMMY franchise from a new screenplay by PROMETHEUS writer Jon Spaihts that we reported on last month and the second will be a reboot of VAN HELSING with Tom Cruise set to play the lead.

At first I thought this was some kind of joke. The first Stephen Sommers directed VAN HELSING movie came out in 2004 and was an absolutely awful piece of dreck that wasted a good idea and a then hot Hugh Jackman. Despite the quality of the final movie the unique idea was there and maybe Orci and Kurtzman have figured out a way of doing it right. It’s also worth noting that the duo have just re-written ALL YOU NEED IS KILL the science fiction action movie that Cruise is starring in.

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