After years of fans calling for their return in a new film, Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are in talks for a new Mummy movie. Fraser and Weisz led the cast of the first two installments in Universal’s rebooted vision of their iconic horror film, with the former starring as soldier-turned-adventurer Rick O’Connell and the latter as Evelyn “Evy” Carnahan, a brilliant Egyptologist whom he falls for after their first journey incidentally awakening Imhotep.
Deadline has brought word that Fraser and Weisz are talking with Universal Pictures to return to The Mummy franchise after a 24-year absence for the latter, and 17-year absence for the former. Sources report that the film is also set to be helmed by Scream team Radio Silence, with the script penned by The Family Plan‘s David Coggeshall and franchise veteran Sean Daniel producing.
In an additional report from The Hollywood Reporter‘s Borys Kit, it was said that the new Mummy movie is “being described as a sequel, not a reboot” of the franchise, with apparent talks of also retconning Tomb of the Dragon Emperor entirely. The third installment in Fraser’s trilogy infamously saw the departures of both franchise director Stephen Sommers and Weisz, who was replaced as Evy by Maria Bello.
This wouldn’t be the first time Radio Silence duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett were attached to a major legacy sequel. Beyond their prior work on the Scream franchise, the directors were also once attached to make a follow-up to John Carpenter’s Escape From New York, but were confirmed to have departed in May 2024 over timing and creative challenges.
News of Fraser and Weisz’s potential Mummy franchise return comes as something of a surprise. It was announced in June 2024 that Evil Dead Rise‘s Lee Cronin had been tapped to write and direct a new installment for Blumhouse, which is already done filming and set for an April 2026 release. While story details have been kept under wraps, it has thus far been described as being separate from prior versions.
While it’s not entirely clear how having these two films on the horizon will impede either’s success, Fraser and Weisz’s The Mummy return is almost guaranteed to be a success. Audiences have clamored for a new adventure with Rick and Evy for years, particularly after Weisz’s exit and Tomb of the Dragon Emperor‘s critical failings. Plus, with Fraser enjoying a new level of stardom after his Oscar victory in The Whale and early buzz for Rental Family, the next installment could prove to be the biggest one yet.
- Created by
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Stephen Sommers, Nina Wilcox Putnam, Richard Schayer
- First Film
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The Mummy (1932)
- First Episode Air Date
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September 29, 2001
The Mummy franchise is a series of films and media centered around resurrected mummies and the adventurers who combat them. The franchise began with the original The Mummy film in 1932, but it was the 1999 reboot directed by Stephen Sommers that rejuvenated the series, blending action, adventure, and horror with a heavy dose of special effects. This version starred Brendan Fraser as the heroic Rick O’Connell and Arnold Vosloo as the reanimated mummy, Imhotep. The success of the 1999 film spawned two sequels, a spin-off series (The Scorpion King), and a 2017 reboot intended to launch Universal’s Dark Universe, though it failed to ignite the intended franchise.