The adventure continues. Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are reuniting for another “Mummy” film, bringing back the duo that made the late-’90s action franchise a beloved box office phenomenon.
Filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett—who call themselves Radio Silence—are set to direct the fourth installment in the decades-old adventure series. The duo is best known for 2019’s wildly entertaining “Ready or Not” and successfully reviving the “Scream” franchise for Paramount in 2022, proving they know how to balance horror, humor, and heart.
Universal, the studio behind the original monster movies, had no comment on the project.
Rick O’Connell Returns
Fraser led the 1999 reboot of “The Mummy,” which co-starred Weisz and became a massive box office hit. The blockbuster—following a treasure hunter who accidentally awakens a cursed Egyptian priest with supernatural powers—also cemented Fraser as a bankable action hero with movie-star charisma and comedic timing.
He returned for two sequels: 2001’s “The Mummy Returns” and 2008’s “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” though Weisz only appeared in the former. Her absence from the third film was felt by fans who loved the chemistry between Fraser’s Rick O’Connell and Weisz’s Evelyn Carnahan.
Universal attempted to resurrect “The Mummy” with Tom Cruise in 2017, but the film was a commercial misfire that failed to kick off the studio’s so-called “Dark Universe”—an ambitious plan to utilize Universal’s catalogue of classic monsters for a series of interconnected adventures similar to Marvel’s cinematic universe. That Dark Universe never materialized, leaving “The Mummy” franchise in limbo until now.
Fraser’s Career Comeback
After stepping away from Hollywood due to personal issues, health problems, and an assault allegation he leveled against former HFPA president Philip Berk, Fraser enjoyed a major career comeback with 2022’s “The Whale,” earning the Oscar for best actor in one of the decade’s most moving performances.
During the press cycle for “The Whale,” Fraser told Variety he’d be open to revisiting his most popular role—adventurer Rick O’Connell—in another “Mummy” sequel, though he admitted uncertainty about how it would work.
“I don’t know how it would work,” Fraser said at the time. “But I’d be open to it, if someone came up with the right conceit.”
Apparently, someone has come up with that right conceit.
What Went Wrong With the 2017 Reboot
Fraser at least has a clear idea of what won’t work. Back in 2022, he dissected why Cruise’s take on “The Mummy” failed to connect with audiences—and his analysis reveals what made the original films special.
“It is hard to make that movie,” Fraser said. “The ingredient that we had going for our ‘Mummy,’ which I didn’t see in the new one, was fun. That was what was lacking in that incarnation. It was too much of a straight-ahead horror movie. ‘The Mummy’ should be a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary.”
That assessment perfectly captures why Fraser’s trilogy worked. The 1999 film and its immediate sequel balanced adventure, humor, romance, and just enough horror to create rollicking entertainment that appealed to broad audiences. Fraser’s Rick O’Connell was charming, funny, and heroic without being invincible—a everyman thrust into extraordinary circumstances who kept his sense of humor even when fighting mummies.
The Cruise version, by contrast, took itself too seriously, draining the joy from the premise while trying to launch a sprawling cinematic universe before establishing why audiences should care about this particular story.
Why Radio Silence Makes Sense
The choice of Radio Silence to direct is inspired. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have proven they can blend genres effectively—”Ready or Not” is a horror-comedy that never loses sight of character or stakes, while their “Scream” films honored the franchise’s legacy while bringing fresh energy and genuine scares.
More importantly, they understand tone. “The Mummy” franchise needs directors who can deliver thrilling action, supernatural horror, and comedic moments without any element overwhelming the others. Radio Silence has demonstrated that exact skill set.
Their involvement also suggests Universal has learned from the 2017 failure. Rather than hiring a director known primarily for gritty spectacle, they’ve chosen filmmakers who understand the importance of fun—exactly what Fraser identified as the missing ingredient in Cruise’s version.
What a Fourth Film Could Explore
With Fraser and Weisz both returning, the question becomes: what’s the story? The actors are now in their 50s (Fraser is 56, Weisz is 55), meaning Rick and Evelyn would be older, likely dealing with new challenges beyond simply surviving monster attacks.
Perhaps the film could explore Rick and Evelyn as empty nesters—their son Alex, played by Luke Ford in the third film, now grown—who get pulled back into adventure one more time. There’s dramatic and comedic potential in watching characters who’ve “retired” from this life forced to dust off their skills and realize they’ve still got it.
The film could also address how the world has changed. Set in contemporary times, Rick and Evelyn might navigate a world where ancient curses clash with modern technology, where social media and smartphones complicate supernatural situations, and where their old-school adventuring approach seems quaint until it proves essential.
Or Universal could set the film in the past, giving us another period adventure that avoids contemporary complications entirely. The ’90s films benefited enormously from their 1920s-1930s setting, which provided exotic locales, vintage planes and vehicles, and a sense of exploration that’s harder to capture in the modern era of GPS and instant communication.
The Legacy of the Original Trilogy
Fraser’s “Mummy” films occupy a specific place in pop culture—they’re the last great old-fashioned adventure movies before superhero films came to dominate the blockbuster landscape. They recall the Indiana Jones trilogy (before the fourth film) in their blend of action, humor, romance, and supernatural thrills.
The 1999 film arrived at an interesting cultural moment, positioned between the sincerity of ’90s adventure films and the ironic detachment that would characterize much 2000s entertainment. It played things relatively straight while allowing Fraser’s natural charm and comic timing to provide levity. The result was a film that felt earnest without being corny, fun without being frivolous.
“The Mummy Returns” doubled down on spectacle, delivering one of the most entertaining sequels of its era. While “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” was the weakest entry—suffering from Weisz’s absence and a China-focused setting that felt disconnected from the Egyptian mythology—it still had moments of the franchise’s signature charm.
Now, with both lead actors returning, Universal has a chance to deliver the proper conclusion the trilogy deserves.
Fraser’s Second Act
Beyond the franchise implications, this reunion represents another chapter in Fraser’s remarkable career resurgence. After his Oscar win for “The Whale,” Fraser has been selective about projects, choosing roles that interest him rather than simply capitalizing on renewed fame.
Returning to “The Mummy” could seem like a step backward—the aging action hero reprising his glory days. But if done right, it’s actually the opposite: an actor with newfound critical respect and industry goodwill bringing hard-earned gravitas and life experience to a role that made him famous.
Fraser’s journey—from action star to Hollywood exile to Oscar winner—mirrors the kind of character arc that makes for compelling storytelling. That real-world experience could inform his performance, adding layers to Rick O’Connell that weren’t possible when Fraser was a younger actor simply playing a charming adventurer.
The Right Conceit
Fraser said he’d return if someone came up with “the right conceit.” While plot details remain under wraps, the combination of Fraser, Weisz, and Radio Silence suggests Universal has found that conceit.
What made the original films work wasn’t just the mummies, curses, or special effects—it was Fraser and Weisz’s chemistry, the romantic adventure at the story’s heart, and the sense that everyone involved was having genuine fun making a big, entertaining movie.
If the fourth film can recapture that spirit while acknowledging how the characters (and actors) have evolved, it could be exactly what fans have been waiting for since 2008.
The adventure is calling. Rick and Evelyn are answering. And this time, they’re bringing directors who understand what made the franchise special in the first place: fun.
No release date has been announced for the fourth Mummy film.
