Los Angeles: Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, the stars of ‘The Mummy’ movies, are set to reunite for another adventure in the franchise. The two Oscar winners will reprise their roles of explorer Rick O’Connell and Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan in the fourth instalment in the long-running action series, reported entertainment news outlet ‘Variety’.
The project will be directed by filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, known as ‘Radio Silence’. The duo is best known for helming the 2019 horror-comedy ‘Ready or Not’ and reviving the ‘Scream’ franchise for ‘Paramount’ in 2022.
‘The Mummy’ franchise began with Stephen Sommers’ 1999 film, in which Rick O’Connell and Evelyn Carnahan battled ancient curses and resurrected villains in exotic locales. It spawned two sequels, ‘The Mummy Returns’ (2001) and ‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’ (2008).
‘Universal’, the studio behind the franchise, had attempted to relaunch ‘The Mummy’ with Tom Cruise in 2017, but the film was a commercial failure. It also derailed the studio’s ambitious plans for an interconnected ‘Dark Universe’ based on its classic monsters.
Fraser, who took a break from Hollywood due to personal and health issues, made a remarkable comeback with filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’ (2022), which earned him the Academy Award for ‘Best Actor’.
During the film’s promotional campaign, Fraser had told ‘Variety’ that he would be open to returning as O’Connell if the right concept came along. “I don’t know how it would work. But I’d be open to it, if someone came up with the right conceit,” the 56-year-old said at the time.