BREAKING: 5/4/2016 @ 3:58 PM ET Russell Crowe is in talks to join the cast of The Mummy!

Universal Monsters Universe has just learned that Russell Crowe is in talks to join the in-development Universal Monsters Universe of films as none other than Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! This follows the news that Universal has scheduled a 2019 release date for an as of yet unannounced Universal Monster movie, and our speculation as to what that could mean for the series in “What Does It Mean?”

Reported first as a Deadline exclusive and later picked up by The Hollywood Reporter, this is what we know so far:

Mike Fleming Jr. of Deadline has learned that Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, and Man of Steel) is in talks to join the cast of Alex Kurtzman’s The Mummy. It’s reported that he will play alongside Tom Cruise in the role of Dr. Jekyll or a “Jekyll-like role” and there is potential that this could be used to spin off the character in a later film; the role may also just be that of a character used to eventually create a more cohesive universe on film much like what we’ve seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and burgeoning DC Extended Universe.

Fascinatingly, The Hollywood Reporter has reported that while Mr. Crowe is in talks for the role of Dr. Jekyll, Universal had previously met with Tom Hardy and Javier Bardem, “but that went nowhere.”

The storyline is set in the modern day with Cruise playing a special forces soldier (or former soldier), according to sources. The script calls for the appearance of Henry Jekyll, who is best known to horror aficionados as the doctor who invents a serum that allows himself to be turned into a depraved and hideous man known as Mr. Hyde.

It will be really exciting to see how this plays out as Russell Crowe would be yet another fine addition to an already impressive universe that includes Sofia Boutella as The Mummy and Johnny Depp as The Invisible Man.

The Mummy is directed by Alex Kurtzman, from a script by Jon Spaihts. It stars Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Marwan Kenzari, Courtney B. Vance, and Sofia Boutella as the iconic creature. The film is planned for release on June 9, 2017.

UPDATE: 5/4/2016 @4:49 PM ET

Justin Kroll of Variety & Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter have tweeted the following which reveal a little more about the possibility of Russell Crowe appearing in The Mummy.

As of now Crowe would just be cameoing but the hope is that this could possibly turn into a standalone film franchise for him in future — Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) May 4, 2016

Tom Hardy was originally in talks for the deal fell a part and the studio then also looked at Redmayne and JGL before offering Crowe — Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) May 4, 2016

Then Universal was in talks with Javier Bardem but that fell apart too. — Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) May 4, 2016

(Steven Biscotti – @reggiemantleIII)