Tom Cruise's character dies and comes back to life right in the trailer for the 2017 movie "The Mummy." It seems like a giant spoiler, but apparently it's only the beginning. But does that mean Cruise plays a Mummy in "The Mummy"?

It's a question Entertainment Weekly asked the director after the new trailer dropped. But, based on the knee-jerk fan reaction, the real question is "Where's Brendan Fraser?" (The short answer is "You can see him on 'The Affair.'")

Brendan Fraser starred as Rick O'Connell in "The Mummy" (1999), "The Mummy Returns" (2001), and "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" (2008). However, the first movie on "The Mummy" came out in 1932, so no one can really claim originality here. This new Mummy with Tom Cruise also stars "Star Trek Beyond" actress Sofia Boutella as the first woman in the titular role.

Entertainment Weekly asked Alex Kurtzman about what it means to show Cruise's character die then come back to life in the trailer. "Is Tom Cruise a Mummy in this movie? Or is that the visual iconography you were trying to create with that moment?"

Here's the director's answer:

There's an origin story happening on two different fronts. I won't tell you too much more than that, other than to say: One of the things that I think has defined Tom Cruise movies, for 30 years, is that Tom Cruise always saves the day. You know whenever you're in a Tom Cruise movie that he's gonna figure out a way to save the day. And that's great, and it's why I pay my money to see his movies. However, in the context of a monster movie, it's challenging, because monster movies are about characters who are often very out of control, and don't know how to save the day. The first thing I said to Tom was, "It'll be scarier if we can take away the fundamental knowledge that you're gonna solve the problem."

In the trailer, when he comes back to life, suddenly he's in a situation where he has no idea what's happening. It removes safety of: "He knows what he's doing." Once you remove that, and anything is possible, the movie can actually free itself up to be scary. The ending of a more traditional movie would probably be the ending of our first act.

Watch the trailer:Man, Tom Cruise really loves those plane stunt scenes -- "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation," "Edge of Tomorrow," "Top Gun" -- he may even love them as much as his running shots.

"The Mummy" is scheduled for release June 9, 2017.

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