Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy 4 Gets An Update From Director Stephen Sommers

Summary

• Stephen Sommers knows nothing about a possible
  Mummy 4
  starring Brendan Fraser.
• The
  Mummy
  1999 director indicates that he’s out-of-the-loop at Universal after executive turnover.
• Sommers says he would, however, work with all his
  Mummy
  actors again, be it a fourth installment or another project.

Brendan Fraser’s long-awaited The Mummy 4 gets an update from director Stephen Sommers. Fraser played a swashbuckling hero in Sommers’ 1999 action-adventure hit reboot of the Universal Classic Monsters franchise, then returning along with Sommers for its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns. Sommers bailed out after the second film in the franchise, but Fraser himself came back for 2008’s Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, with Rob Cohen at the helm.

Fraser has indeed indicated that he’s game to return for a long-delayed fourth Mummy franchise entry, but though Sommers seems keen to work with Fraser again, he indicates that he’s unaware of any studio interest in making Mummy 4 happen. Check out his remarks below (via The Hollywood Reporter):

Not that I know. All the people at Universal are new after I left. I don’t really know them, and they haven’t got a hold of me, so I don’t know what’s in their heads. At the same time, it would have to be something really special. Of course, I would work with all of those actors again.

Fraser Is Also Keen For A Mummy 4 With 1 Key Actor

Fraser was teamed with Rachel Weisz in The Mummy and Returns, with the duo’s great chemistry having been praised in particular by critics and audiences alike. When it came time for Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, however, the Oscar winner elected not to reprise her role as Evy due to a combination of issues concerning the script and having just given birth to her son. She was instead replaced by Maria Bello, with the threequel’s cast also bringing in Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh.

In the years since its release, Fraser and Yeoh have both won Oscars since appearing together in 2008’s Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2022, the former for Best Actor in The Whale and the latter for Best Actress in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Though her character did meet her end in The Mummy threequel, Fraser previously expressed his hopes to reunite with Yeoh in a potential fourth movie, while also humorously acknowledging that he’s “always looking for a job“. Check out what Fraser previously said below:

Sounds like fun. I’m always looking for a job. If anyone’s got the right conceit. I think I’ve never been as famous, and never been as unsalaried at the moment as I am right now. So spread the word.

Given Sommers admits he is out of the loop with the current executives at Universal, there is always the chance that the studio could be considering plans for The Mummy 4 that he is not currently privy to. That being said, with how integral Sommers was to the original movie’s unique tonal blend of horror and swashbuckling action, it would prove pretty surprising if they left Sommers out of the loop entirely for an expansion of his original rebooted franchise.

How Likely Is The Mummy 4 To Actually Happen?

Despite both Sommers and Fraser’s interest in making a fourth movie in the franchise, The Mummy 4 does have a number of hurdles in its way to getting made. One of the biggest challenges it has to overcome is the financial one, particularly after the Tom Cruise-led reboot infamously became a critical and commercial flop in its 2017 release, reportedly losing the studio upwards of $95 million. While Fraser’s final installment, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, was similarly considered an underperformer, it was still largely a success. Check out how Fraser’s Mummy movies compare to Cruise’s at the box office and on Rotten Tomatoes below:

There is, however, one potential saving grace in The Mummy 4‘s favor in the success Universal has seen since abandoning its Dark Universe plans. Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man reboot not only garnered acclaim from critics and audiences alike, but was also a box office smash in spite of its theatrical release being cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, grossing over $144.5 million against its $7 million production budget. With the studio also forging ahead with the Whannell-helmed Wolf Man reboot, even in spite of a lengthy behind-the-scenes road, it’s clear they’re keen on further telling stories based on the Universal Classic Monsters library.

Following
The Invisible Man
, Universal has since put out three updated takes on the Classic Monsters roster, including Nicolas Cage’s
Renfield
, André Øvredal’s
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
and Radio Silence’s
Abigail
.

Though Sommers’ movies do tend to cost considerably more than some of their recent monster movie output, the director and Fraser reuniting for The Mummy 4 would be a major selling point for getting audiences to the theater. The Whale is a prime example of just how beneficial Fraser returning would be, as the indie movie became a box office hit as it expanded to further theaters as audiences were keen to support his resurgence and watch his now-Oscar-winning performance. With a number of variables for Universal to consider, though, The Mummy 4‘s future remains in a state of uncertainty.

Fraser’s first two Mummy movies are available to stream on Peacock.

Source: THR