Here’s some unexpected but much-appreciated news: Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are reportedly in talks to star in a new Mummy film from Radio Silence, the team behind Ready or Not, Scream (2022), and 2023’s Scream VI. And it could be a direct sequel to the second film.
On November 4, The Hollywood Reporter reported that it had heard from sources that Fraser and Weisz are currently in talks with Universal to return to the franchise that started back in 1999 with the blockbuster action-adventure movie The Mummy, an action-oriented remake of the studio’s original 1930s horror movie. The outlet reports that Radio Silence is producing and directing the movie. The duo, made up of filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, found success with 2019’s Ready Or Not and helped revitalize the Scream franchise in 2022. Sean Daniel, who helped produce the OG Mummy movies, is also on board.
Details on the new movie are still under wraps (get it?), but a source told The Hollywood Reporter that the yet-to-be-confirmed new Mummy movie isn’t a reboot, but instead a sequel that would possibly “disregard” the events of the third film, which hit theaters in 2008, moved the franchise into China, and controversially recast Weisz’s character. The outlet reports that David Coggeshall is behind the new Mummy’s screenplay.
After 1999’s fantastic Mummy, Universal followed it up with two sequels. The equally fun sequel arrived in 2001 and was also a box office hit. But the franchise stalled before returning seven years later and flopping with critics, though that film still brought in over $400 million.
In 2017, Universal rebooted The Mummy with Tom Cruise as part of the studio’s Dark Universe project. While it earned about the same as the third Mummy movie, it cost significantly more and was attached to a failed cinematic universe that never took off. So it makes sense that Universal, wanting to cash in on this oddly reliable franchise, is looking to bring back the two charismatic stars who launched the whole thing in 1999. Let’s just hope it all works out and we get one more fun mummy-filled adventure with Fraser and Weisz.