Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” Official Trailer Released! Is It a Cousin of 1999’s “The Mummy”?

The official trailer for Disney’s Jungle Cruise has been released, starring Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson. Is it just me, or did the trailer remind you of 1999’s highly enjoyable The Mummy movie?

Recently, (acclaimed director) Martin Scorcese made certain comments (and I’m paraphrasing here) about how the live-action Marvel comic book films aren’t actual cinema. He also added that the MCU franchise is a big-budgeted promotional campaign for theme parks.

And while we can debate what constitutes cinema, as well as the differences between ‘art’ and ‘high art,’ I think we can all agree that the upcoming Jungle Cruise movie is literally an advertisement for Disney’s theme park attraction of the same name. So, you can kind of see what Scorcese meant by the type of content Disney focuses on creating. While Disney films can have a heart and be able to elicit an emotional response from certain audience members, the primary focus is to sell more stuff.

Set for a July 24, 2020, release in the US, here’s the official trailer for Disney’s Jungle Cruise!

Here’s my reaction!

As I mentioned in my reaction video, the trailer reminded me of 1999’s The Mummy. Even the character dynamics feel similar. We have a curious woman whose brother is going to be used for comedic relief. The woman ends up hiring a man who knows the area where a secret item is hidden. Something supernatural will awaken. There’s action and comedy. It’s set in the past. And we all know sparks are going to fly between the man and the woman.

I mean, this film could’ve easily worked as a reboot (or a loosely connected installment) in The Mummy franchise.

Also, I was surprised we didn’t get to see a lot of Jack Whitehall’s character McGregor Houghton in the trailer. This film has already faced a lot of controversy about hiring a straight actor to (allegedly) play a stereotypical gay character.

Now, there’s some speculation online that the reason we didn’t get to see McGregor speak or express something in the trailer is due to Disney reworking some of the scenes featuring him. Apparently, the studio is trying to tone down the stereotypical portrayal.

Do you all remember how Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast handled the queer character Le Fou? I can totally see Jungle Cruise using McGregor for comedic relief by featuring queer stereotypes in the initial cut.

Let’s see how McGregor comes across when the film is released next year.

Feel free to share your thoughts with us.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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