When you think of action and adventure, a lot of movies probably come to mind, right? Now, narrow that down to something with a darker tone and a touch of horror, and it’s hard not to think of The Mummy. The franchise is a classic, with a desert expedition, a lost civilization, an ancient curse, and a supernatural creature, all mixed with humor, romance, and a few scares, that turned Brendan Fraser’s Rick O’Connell into an adventure icon. With that legacy, a reboot-sequel is in development to bring him back alongside Rachel Weisz as Evelyn Carnahan. And that got us thinking: how interesting would it be if Hollywood considered doing the same with some movies in the same vein?
Of course, this wouldn’t be about just taking a few films, adding more CGI, and making everything look like a giant blockbuster just for the sake of it; the idea would be to keep the adventure, the protagonists, the creatures, and that sense of discovery, while finding a balance where the horror actually has some weight in the mix. So, we picked 3 movies that could be strong candidates for a reboot like this.
Thinking about adventure and scares together, The 13th Warrior might be a slightly less obvious choice, but that’s why it could make for an interesting reboot. The film is an adaptation of Michael Crichton’s Eaters of the Dead and a retelling of the epic poem Beowulf, following Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan (Antonio Banderas), an exiled Arab emissary who ends up joining a group of Vikings when they have to face the Wendol, a threat that comes from the shadows, raids villages, and devours its victims. It’s sold as an action-packed adventure, but there’s a strong horror element running through it.
For much of the story, no one really knows what is attacking the villagers until the Wendol start being treated like a legend that has come to life. You can absolutely have that epic Viking tone, but a reboot would be much more interesting if it fully embraced the adventure-horror side, with the characters investigating a threat that seems supernatural before revealing its true nature. There would be battles, journeys, and Vikings, but also creatures appearing in the middle of the night and that whole feeling of stepping into territory that should have been left alone — in that sense, The 13th Warrior could have a lot in common with The Mummy. Here, the adventure would drive the movie, but the horror is what would keep you curious.
When Solomon Kane was released, it was supposed to be the first installment in a trilogy, but nothing came out of it because of the box office, and by the late 2010s, a TV series was being considered. Did it happen? Unfortunately, no. But the truth is that it has all the ingredients to make another attempt worth considering. The story follows the titular character (James Purefoy), a violent warrior who tries to leave his past behind after discovering that his soul is damned, but ends up returning to action when some dark forces begin threatening innocent people. It’s pure fantasy with swords and magic, but it leans into the dark side thanks to its demons, grim atmosphere, and more unsettling elements. Its potential could even reach The Lord of the Rings levels in terms of scale, just to give an idea.
What should be considered for a reboot is that the story doesn’t even need to be reinvented from the ground up; it just needs to be a film that understands what to do with the world created by Robert E. Howard. In a new version, Kane could easily be a protagonist in the same vein as Rick O’Connell: someone extremely capable, but also flawed and charismatic, traveling to different places and getting himself caught up in situations involving cults, creatures, and demonic forces. But to also give it an identity of its own, Solomon Kane could revolve even more around the protagonist’s guilt and damnation, expanding on the conflict. That way, the story could feel even darker, and still keep the strange mythology at its core.
Here, the comparison to The Mummy works really well since the movie was even directed by the same person: Stephen Sommers. On top of that, the whole story follows a similar structure to the franchise, just taking place out at sea. Deep Rising puts a group of mercenaries aboard the luxurious Argonautica, where they find out that hundreds of passengers have disappeared and the culprit is a gigantic creature that is literally devouring people inside the ship. It has action, adventure, sci-fi, and horror, but looking at it today, it’s easy to imagine this idea being taken much further, with the chance to bring back a type of blockbuster that knows how to be fun and still leave room for some scary deaths.
For some perspective, a lot of people liked Deep Rising, but plenty of others didn’t, and that’s because it has the perfect energy, but perhaps needed a little more work to avoid being compared to the Alien franchise. Overall, it has a great premise (so much so that the ending was deliberately left open for a possible sequel), but it would probably benefit much more from being revisited today. The whole plot is basically The Mummy‘s formula, but with a reboot, some things could be adjusted to make the film stronger: keep the humor, the gore, and the spirit, but maybe give the characters more personality, build the suspense better, and make the creature feel much more terrifying.
