Brendan Fraser finally received the call he’s been waiting 20 years for: The Mummy 4.
The Oscar winner, 56, who’s led the action franchise since its debut in 1999, is reprising his beloved role of adventurer Rick O’Connell in a forthcoming sequel. Fraser starred opposite Rachel Weisz in the trilogy’s first two films, The Mummy and The Mummy Returns (2001). However, Weisz sat out of the third installment, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), and was replaced by Maria Bello.
“The third one was a model of … how can I say this to the AP reporter? NBC had the rights to broadcast the Olympics that year,” Fraser told the Associated Press in a new interview.
“So they put two together and we went to China. Working in Shanghai, an incredible experience. I’m proud of the third one because I think it’s a good standalone movie. We picked up and did what we do with a different crew on deck and gave it our best shot.”
Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was directed by Rob Cohen, who took over for Stephen Sommers. It welcomed Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li and Isabella Leong, but was torn apart by critics.
“The one I wanted to make was never made,” Fraser admitted. “But the one I wanted to make is forthcoming. And I’ve been waiting 20 years for this call. Sometimes it was loud, sometimes it was a faint telegraph. Now? It’s time to give the fans what they want.”
The fourth film will be co-helmed by the Radio Silence duo of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and will also mark the long-awaited return of Weisz.
In 2017, Universal Pictures took a major swing to try and reboot The Mummy, with Tom Cruise in the lead role. It ultimately proved to be a failed venture, garnering abysmal critical reviews.
Previously speaking to Variety about Cruise’s reboot, Fraser said: “It is hard to make that movie. The ingredient that we had going for our Mummy, which I didn’t see in that film, was fun.
“That was what was lacking in [Tom Cruise’s] incarnation,” he noted. “It was too much of a straight-ahead horror movie. The Mummy should be a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary.”
Fraser currently stars in the new movie by Japanese filmmaker Hikari, Rental Family. The comedy drama is about an American man (Fraser) who lands an unusual gig with a Japanese agency to play stand-in roles for strangers.
The George of the Jungle actor has been on the up-and-up since 2023, when he made an incredible Hollywood comeback, earning his first Best Actor Oscar for The Whale.
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