A staunch supporter of the HD DVD format (at least as long as it was alive and kicking!), Universal Studios yesterday announced it will soon release a raft of films including new titles on the Blu-ray format -- around the same time as the release of its standard DVDs.

The studio said the Blu-ray series would kick-off this summer with recent blockbuster "Doomsday", going on to include about 40 titles in the second half of 2008. Among the illustrious 40 are five of the studio's real biggies including "The Incredible Hulk" starring Edward Norton, William Hurt, and Liv Tyler; "Wanted" starring James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie; "Hellboy II: The Golden Army"; "Mamma Mia" starring award-winning actor Meryl Streep; and the sequel "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" starring Brendan Fraser and Jet Li.

Universal said it would officially release a trio of films from its wildly popular "The Mummy" franchise on July 22; the films comprise: "The Mummy", "The Mummy Returns", and "The Scorpion King" starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Before the year end, catalog titles including "American Gangster", "Knocked Up", "The 40-Year-Old Virgin", "Miami Vice", "End of Days", "U-571", and "Land of the Dead" would be released on Blu-ray, the studio said.

Universal has been a supporter of the Toshiba-led HD DVD format all along but when Toshiba all but pulled the plug on the dying format, Universal was quick to switch over to camp Blu-ray.