For all the monsters native to Universal Pictures’ “Dark Universe,” none is harder to revive than the Mummy. Universal had a lucrative franchise on its hands with its first reboot of The Mummy, which featured Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as a whole generation’s bi awakening. Its first installment was, rightfully, a major hit, justifying two sequels, an animated spinoff, and, of course, an iconic roller coaster at Universal Studios. But each subsequent film offered diminishing returns, and the same — even more — could be said for the reboot that Universal attempted in 2017, a textbook case of wasted potential.
While other Universal monsters, like the Invisible Man and Frankenstein, find new leases on life again and again, the Mummy has been doomed by too many failed follow-ups. It’s frustrating to say, especially for fans of the 2000s series. Fortunately, Universal seems to agree. Rather than fully reboot the property for a third time, the studio is turning the clock back for a shocking revival of Fraser and Weisz’s Mummy.
Fraser and Weisz are currently in talks to return as Rick O’Connell and Evelyn O’Connell, respectively, in a new installment of their Mummy franchise. The project will be helmed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the filmmaking team otherwise known as Radio Silence. This will be the duo’s next film after Ready or Not: Here I Come, due for a 2026 release. There’s no telling when this new Mummy film will hit theaters, but the prospect of it happening is reason enough to get excited.
While Fraser starred in all three mainline Mummy films, Weisz only appeared in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. She was recast for the franchise’s third installment, the widely panned Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Her absence wasn’t the only misstep for the film: the magic and whimsy that fueled The Mummy had also been replaced with generic, self-serious blockbuster beats. It’s the kind of finale that most would rather forget, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, this new film could do just that. An anonymous source suggests that The Mummy 4 could retcon the events of Dragon Emperor, excising it from the franchise’s main timeline. Stranger things have happened — and as long as The Mummy 4 delivers the same tone that fans have been missing, then such a tweak is well worth it. Long live the Monsterverse.
