A modernized reboot of the Universal Monsters franchise has been slowly taking shape at Universal Pictures over the past couple of years, but it wasn’t until late last year that the property landed its first big star. Tom Cruise signed on to play the lead role in The Mummy (a special forces soldier) and the movie is now in production in London with Alex Kurtzman directing. However, being that this is the first in a series of interconnected films, they are also looking to introduce a few other familiar faces to eventually appear in spin-off movies of their own. We are hearing that one of these characters will be Dr. Jekyll, who of course eventually invents a serum that turns him into the monstrous Mr. Hyde. Russell Crowe is now said to be circling the role. Hit the jump to find out what we know.

According to THR, Russell Crowe is in early talks to play a dual role as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the Universal Monsters cinematic universe. If the deal happens, he would apparently appear in The Mummy before starring in a movie of his own. However, it is worth noting that the talks are still at an early stage and both Tom Hardy and Javier Bardem were previously in negotiations for the same role before their own deals fell apart.

Russell Crowe does seem like the kind of guy who can pull off both sides of this character and with Shane Black’s The Nice Guys coming out this summer he may be on his way to re-establishing himself as a decent box office draw. His last major starring role was in Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, which disappointed domestically but ultimately made up for it internationally. Before that it was Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, which also disappointed. Do you think Russell Crowe is a great choice to play Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?