Tom Cruise: 'Russell Crowe killed it in The Mummy reboot!'

Tom Cruise had a blast working with old pal Russell Crowe on the set of upcoming movie The Mummy, revealing they'd been planning to make a blockbuster together for years.

Tom has explained he and Russell were itching to work with each other for quite some time and when the chance came to revamp 1999's The Mummy, starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, together they jumped at the opportunity.

And the Top Gun star only has great things to say about his co-star.

"He is incredible in it," Tom told Entertainment Tonight. "He's such a fine actor and I just had a lot of fun watching him develop that character (of Dr. Jekyll). And we had some great scenes together... and it was a blast doing (them)."

He also hinted at what viewers can expect from the project, describing it as a "real monster movie" that's very scary. However he did promise there will be a good mix of humour and romance too.

Russell previously joked about losing contact with Tom after the movie star split from ex-wife Nicole Kidman in 2001, though assured fans their friendship is still strong.

"I was really good friends with Tom from probably about '92 or so until he got divorced," the Oscar winner told ET. "When he got divorced, I was part of Nicole's settlement and so we didn't see each other."

"I think we have a very simple and direct connection. I always had a great deal of respect for what he does and I'm really looking forward to being in front of a camera with him."

The Mummy will be the first of a new franchise of monster films for Universal Pictures. It also stars actress Annabelle Wallis and is due for release in June 2017.