[SPOILERS ahead for The Mummy.]
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While Tom Cruise plays a central role in The Mummy reboot, his role in the future of the Dark Universe remains something of a mystery. It was reported for years that Universal Pictures was developing a rebooted version of its classic monster cinematic universe that would kick-off with The Mummy, but it wasn't until three weeks before that film's domestic theatrical release that the studio revealed an official title for the franchise - namely, the Dark Universe - complete with its own original, Danny Elfman-composed theme music.
Upon announcing the Dark Universe title, Universal released a photo of the A-listers who have been recruited to star in the franchise (thus far), in the process confirming that Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem are playing the Invisible Man and Frankenstein's monster, as they had been long rumored to do by that point. Of the five actors featured in the official Dark Universe cast photo (including, Russell Crowe and Sofia Boutella), Cruise was the only one not initially presented as playing an iconic "monster" himself - signaling that his character in The Mummy, one sergeant Nick Morton, would be more than just a one-and-done Dark Universe movie protagonist, even before the film came out.
When Cruise first signed on for The Mummy, it wasn't clear if his reasons for doing so included him wanting to add another blockbuster franchise to his belt (to join the likes of Mission: Impossible). It was even reported that the actor had decided to star in The Mummy in part to fill an opening in his schedule, after the sci-fi heist/thriller Luna Park - which Cruise and his Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman had been working on at that time - failed to secure a green-light. After signing on though, Cruise played a key role in developing and promoting The Mummy, ahead of its release in theaters. He may have even been the one responsible for getting his trusted collaborator, Oscar-winner Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation), to do enough work on The Mummy's script to earn co-writing credit.
That is to say: given how involved Cruise ultimately wound up being in getting the first installment in the Dark Universe off the ground, it would be a bit strange for him to simply step away from the franchise completely, hereon out. Reviews for The Mummy have been pretty negative and unflattering on the whole, yet many of them also single out the film's universe-building as being one of its stronger suits. Similarly, The Mummy is being projected for a relatively soft domestic box office opening weekend take, but its performance at the global box office (where, in recent years especially, Cruise's vehicles have typically done much better than in the U.S.) is expected to be strong enough to make the film a commercial success and keep the Dark Universe from exploding right on takeoff. As such, the groundwork has been put into place for Cruise to appear in additional chapters in the franchise that are either more artistically-rewarding and/or financially-successful than The Mummy will be for the actor.
As for what role Cruise's Nick Morton will playing in the overarching narrative of the Dark Universe following the events of The Mummy, well, that doesn't become fully clear until the final minutes of director Alex Kurtzman's film. For most of the movie, Nick Morton is presented as being a hapless puppet of the newly-resurrected Princess Ahmanet (Boutella), with her plan being to use Nick to serve as the human vessel for the wicked Egyptian deity that is Set. However, by the end of the film, the truth is revealed: this wasn't really an origin story for (and introduction to) Boutella's iteration of The Mummy so much as it was a setup for Cruise to play a version of The Mummy in the Dark Universe. What exactly that role will constitute though, requires additional dissection.
NEXT: What Does The Mummy's Ending Mean for Nick Morton?
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By the final scene in The Mummy, Nick Morton has gained, for all intents and purposes, the same powers as Ahmanet, including the ability to resurrect the dead - which allows him to revive both Annabelle Wallis' Jenny Halsey and Jake Johnson's Chris Vail - and to conjure up giant sandstorms as he so chooses, (presumably) among other things. Of course, all of these shiny new super-powers come with a price, leaving Nick now permanently (?) fused with Set and struggling to control the darkness that now resides within him. Nick, essentially, has become a dark superhero, similar to Russell Crowe's Dr. Henry Jekyll... only unlike Jekyll's monstrous alter ego "Eddie" Hyde, there are no special drugs that Nick can take to make certain that Set doesn't fully take control of him.
In case that didn't paint a clear-enough picture of what the Dark Universe has in store for Cruise, Dr. Jekyll delivers even more expositional narration in the final moments of The Mummy, teasing that one day the world may need Nick/Set (who is something of a cross between a god and a monster) to return and do battle with other dangerous creatures of his ilk. It's a pretty transparent setup for Cruise to appear in at least one more Dark Universe film down the line, be it in a supporting role in another character's film or/and as part of an Avengers-style ensemble of dark superheroes/monsters, like himself. When, exactly, that will happen is something that's more difficult to nail down at this stage.
So far, Universal has only confirmed the release date for one additional Dark Universe film: a reboot of Bride of Frankenstein, directed by Bill Condon and starring Oscar-winner Javier Bardem as Frankenstein's monster, as well as an as-yet announced actress as the eponymous Bride (a role that Angelina Jolie is rumored to have long been the top pick for). The odds are in favor of Dr. Jekyll making an appearance at some point during Condon's movie too, seeing as The Mummy sets the character up to be the Nick Fury of the Dark Universe (and his secret organization, Prodigium, its S.H.I.E.L.D.), serving as a connective thread through the franchise. Cruise as Nick/Set, however, presumably won't appear in Bride of Frankenstein, save for maybe a passing reference or an end-credits scene (something The Mummy doesn't have, but which Kurtzman has indicated is a possibility as the Dark Universe continues to evolve).
Assuming that Universal keeps going with the Dark Universe after Bride of Frankenstein then, when would be the best time for a crossover movie that sees Cruise as Nick/Set either join forces with and/or battling other monsters? Cruise himself hasn't dropped any hints yet about when that might happen, nor has he alluded to the planned role for him to play in the larger monster cinematic universe moving forward. Most of the Dark Universe films reported to be in development thus far (The Invisible Man, The Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and so forth) are solo character movies, but it's possible that Cruise could appear in some of them as a periphery figure, either keeping tabs on the titular monsters and/or keeping an eye on them from the background. In that sense, Cruise could serve as something of a monster hunter in the Dark Universe - a role that would be fitting, seeing as once upon a time, Cruise was supposed to play the iconic vampire hunter Van Helsing in the rebooted monster cinematic universe.
Of course, nothing of the sort will happen, should The Mummy ultimately not perform well-enough at the worldwide box office to turn a profit and Universal gets cold feet on continuing the Dark Universe - leaving Kurtzman's The Mummy to join Dracula Untold on the short list of Universal's failed attempts to reboot its own monster cinematic universe for the 21st century. Otherwise, chances are good that Cruise will appear in at least once future Dark Universe movie for the reasons listed here alone - to mention nothing of the A-lister's ongoing preoccupation with making sequels in general (see: Mission: Impossible 6, Top Gun 2, Edge of Tomorrow 2).
