Chiabella James/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock
Director Alex Kurtzman is looking back at his 2017 film The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise.
While on The Playlist’s Bingeworthy podcast, Kurtzman revealed that he sees the 2017 reboot of the hit action franchise as the “biggest failure of my life, both personally and professionally.”
RELATED: Tom Cruise on How His Character in The Mummy Is an Anti-Hero: ‘He’s Kind of Naughty’
“I tend to subscribe to the point of view that you learn nothing from your successes, and you learn everything from your failures,” Kurtzman said. “There’s about a million things I regret about it, but it also gave me so many gifts that are inexpressibly beautiful.”
Cruise starred in the film as U.S. Army Sergeant Nick Morton, who accidentally disturbs the ancient tomb of a mummy princess (Sofia Boutella). Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, and Russell Crowe were also among the cast.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The film, which critics panned and some called “dead on arrival” when it hit theaters, reportedly cost Universal Studios close to $95 million. IndieWire called it the “worst Tom Cruise movie ever.”
Looking back on the production process in the interview, Kurtzman emphasized just how young and new he was to the business of directing at the time he filmed The Mummy and how much he’s grown since.
RELATED: Annabelle Wallis Reveals Mummy Costar Tom Cruise ‘Saved My Life’: Inside the Hair-Raising Tale!
“I didn’t become a director until I made that movie, and it wasn’t because it was well directed — it was because it wasn’t,” Kurtzman said. “I would not have understood many of the things that I now understand about what it means to be a director had I not gone through that experience.”
At the time he directed The Mummy, Kurtzman had never taken on such a large-scale picture. Although he called the production “brutal,” he also shared he couldn’t be more grateful for the experience and how it taught him to speak up for himself.
RELATED VIDEO: ‘The Mummy’ Star Annabelle Wallis On How She Almost Puked on Tom Cruise
“I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to make those mistakes, because it rebuilt me into a tougher person, and it also rebuilt me into a clearer filmmaker,” Kurtzman explained.
“And that has been a real gift, and I feel those gifts all the time, because I’m very clear now — when I have a feeling that doesn’t feel right, I am not quiet about it anymore. I will literally not proceed when I feel that feeling. It’s not worth it to me. And you can’t get to that place of gratitude until you’ve had that kind of experience.”
