Oscar winners
Brendan Fraser and
Rachel Weisz are in negotiations to return for Universal's new installment in
"The Mummy" franchise. This would be fourth film in the series following
"The Mummy" (1999),
"The Mummy Returns" (2001) and
"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" (2008). Weisz and Fraser starred together in the first two films, but Weisz did not want to star in the third installment and was replaced by
Maria Bello.
Of course, plot details are under wraps, but it has been reported that the film will be directed by Radio Silence members
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin &
Tyler Gillett (
"Ready Or Not",
"Abigail",
"Scream" 5 and 6) from a script by
David Coggeshall (
"The Family Plan",
"The Deliverance").
Producers include franchise veteran
Sean Daniel,
William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, and
Paul Neinstein of Project X Entertainment.
Based on one of Universal's original movie monsters,
"The Mummy" franhise helped Fraser rise as one of the biggest stars of the late '90s and early 2000s. The first film grossed $417 million worldwide in 1999, while the second raked in $443 million globally in 2001, and the third finished its theatrical run with $403 million in 2008. In 2002, Universal releaed a spinoff titled
"The Scorpion King" starring
Dwayne Johnson, which grossed over $180 million worldwide. The
"Mummy" films were so popular they were spun off into famed attractions for Universal parks in Hollywood, Orlando, FL and Singapore.
In 2017, Universal attempted to reboot the franchise with 2017's
"The Mummy" starring
Tom Cruise, which was intended to launch a new series of monster movies under the banner of the Dark Universe. The film did okay at the box office ($409 million worldwide), but was universally panned by critics and moviegoers, leading Universal to scrap its broader Dark Universe plans.
