Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz to Reunite for New Mummy Film
Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are set to reunite for another installment in the Mummy franchise, much to the excitement of their fans. Fans have taken to social media to express their joy, with one fan stating, “This is what I have been waiting for for decades,” while another added, “Glad this dream pair is reuniting.”
The original Mummy film, released in 1999, became an instant hit. It follows a treasure hunter who accidentally awakens a cursed Egyptian priest with supernatural powers. The film was followed by a sequel, The Mummy Returns, in 2001. However, Fraser appeared alone in 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, as Weisz did not return for the third film.
In 2017, The Mummy was rebooted with Tom Cruise in the lead role, but it failed to capture the same magic as the earlier films. Now, filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are set to direct the fourth installment, which does not yet have a release date or title.
Fraser experienced a Hollywood comeback with his role in 2022’s The Whale, for which he earned the Oscar for best actor. In 2023, Weisz told Extra that she texted Fraser after he won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in The Whale.
Rachel, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2006 for The Constant Gardener, said: “I’m so happy for Brendan. Very happy. I texted after his win. I texted him after I saw the performance. It was a staggeringly good film.”
She also shared that she is thrilled for Fraser’s new chapter in his career. “And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer, nicer guy.”
Weisz played Evelyn in the Mummy franchise, while Fraser portrayed her on-screen husband Rick. This comes after Fraser expressed his belief that Cruise’s The Mummy failed because it lacked any fun.
Cruise’s The Mummy, released in 2017, was intended to be the start of a Dark Universe of connected films based on the Universal Classic Monsters. However, it was a critical and commercial failure, leading to the abandonment of the cinematic monster universe idea.
Fraser has spoken out about why Cruise’s The Mummy flopped, insisting it lacked the adventure and excitement that the earlier films had. Speaking at Fan Expo Denver, he said: “I know Tom Cruise tried to make his movie and it ain’t easy! We all know how hard this movie is to make. With the exception of three [The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor], the thing with all of these films is that, at least it was fun, it was a thrill ride, and you wanted to do it again.”
Sommers directed the first two instalments of the Fraser series, which also starred John Hannah and Arnold Vosloo, and produced the third. Sommers previously admitted he was not a fan of the reboot and was annoyed that director Alex Kurtzman or the writers David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman never contacted him for advice or pointers.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said: “I was kind of insulted because the writers and director of that Tom Cruise one, no one ever contacted me. I contact people if I was going to take over somebody’s thing. The third one, which Rob [Cohen] directed, it’s kind of my baby. I didn’t want to step on his toes, so I helped produce it. But I had nothing to do with the Tom Cruise one. They never contacted me or called me. I was doing other things, and it’s not like I sat crying. I just think it’s common courtesy.”
The Mummy is getting another reboot from Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin, who is releasing his take on the cursed Egyptian monster via New Line in April 2026. It is the first film in the Mummy franchise not to be distributed by Universal Pictures.
Cronin has vowed that his vision for the film “will be unlike any Mummy movie you’ve ever laid eyeballs on before.” He added: “I’m digging deep into the earth to raise something very ancient and very frightening.”
