The soundless trailer for “The Mummy” is one of the funniest marketing mishaps to ever happen and the internet refuses to forget about it. Every couple of months, fans remember just how hilarious the trailer was, reintroducing it to a whole new audience. Even after its unimpactful removal, Reddit continues to memorialize the video.
While there are plenty of jokes to be had, many are using “The Mummy” trailer as an example of how just important sound effects are to filmmaking. “God, I love this [‘The Mummy’ trailer] for its hilarity, but it’s also an insight into the underappreciated magic of sound design in movies,'” wrote u/Khearnei in a r/Movies post discussing the trailer. Some fans just want to point out the ridiculousness of it all, calling out Tom Cruise’s strange screams. “I love how they literally just looped that exact same audio twice in a row, as if it was done so well the first time,” shared u/ScalpelBurn2.
The screams in the trailer have found a strange fandom of their own. One of the most popular remixes to manifest from the “Mummy” trailer is a clip of Darth Vader screaming in “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.” Instead of shrieking “No,” the character screams just like Cruise, making for a hilarious crossover. Years after its release, “The Mummy” is mostly remembered for its chuckle-worthy trailer and how it failed to launch a cinematic universe. When the film was released, it served as a rare blunder for Cruise, but the actor later saw hits in the form of “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” and “Top Gun: Maverick” years later.
