Brendan Fraser was in his thirties when he starred in The Mummy franchise – and now, 20 years on, the one-time action hero is returning for more.
The Oscar-winning actor has reflected on the forthcoming sequel, teasing: “We’re gonna saddle back up, go back to the locations” – but he has asked for “luck” with his fitness regime required to become adventurer Rick O'Connell once again.
“Please wish me luck – I’m doing my best to get this 57-year-old gear in shape,” he said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
He’s not alone – Fraser confirmed the original cast members, including Rachel Weisz and John Hannah, will be in the new sequel also.
“We’re gonna get the band back together,” he said, adding: “It’s the only way to do it. So we are going to give the audience what they have been bothering all of us for, for the last twenty-whatever years.”
He said he was “hopeful for a long while” that a fourth Mummy film would get made, but was uncertain whether his co-stars were as enthusiastic about the idea.
Fraser starred opposite Rachel Weisz in the trilogy’s first two films, The Mummy and The Mummy Returns (2001). However, Weisz sat out the third instalment, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), and was replaced by Maria Bello.
The actor has distanced himself from the third film, stating: “The one I wanted to make was never made. But the one I wanted to make is forthcoming. And I’ve been waiting 20 years for this call.”
The film arrives in the wake of a career resurgence for George of the Jungle star Fraser, who won an Oscar for his role in Darren Aronofsky’s drama The Whale in 2023. He played a morbidly obese, reclusive English teacher who tries to restore his relationship with his teenage daughter, whom he had abandoned eight years earlier.
Fraser most recently starred in Rental Family, a comedy-drama about an American man who lands an unusual gig with a Japanese agency to play stand-in roles for strangers.
The Mummy 4 will be co-helmed by the Radio Silence duo of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who made the Ready or Not horror franchise.
The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.
