Following months of rumours, The Hollywood Reporter (via SFFGazette.com) has confirmed that Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz have closed deals to reprise their iconic roles as Rick and Evelyn O'Connell in The Mummy 4.
Scream and Abigail directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, also known as Radio Silence, will helm the movie, now confirmed for a May 19, 2028, theatrical release. Unsurprisingly, plot details are being kept under wraps for the time being.
David Coggeshall (The Family Plan, Orphan: First Kill) wrote the screenplay for this next instalment of the franchise, with Sean Daniel returning as a producer. William Sherak, James Vanderbilt and Paul Neinstein will produce through Project X Entertainment, and they're frequent collaborators with Radio Silence.
Coincidentally, Empire Online published an interview with the filmmakers today, asking them about—potentially, when this conversation took place—bringing Rick and Evelyn back to the big screen.
"Having stepped into Scream, our radar for jumping into another franchise is that it has to feel special," Gillet mused. "And [David Coggeshall’s] script really does that. It is very beautiful and sweeping and scary and fun."
Fraser and Weisz clearly felt the same way, and all signs point to this being the fan-pleasing revival fans of The Mummy franchise have waited years for.
They previously shared the screen in two Mummy movies: 1999's The Mummy and 2001's The Mummy Returns. Stephen Sommers directed those, and both grossed over $400 million worldwide (adjusted for inflation, that's close to $800 million apiece).
The franchise was so popular that theme park attractions and a spin-off, The Scorpion King, followed. While not a critical darling, Rob Cohen's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008 was another success with a $403 million haul, even though Fraser starred without Weisz.
As for The Scorpion King, while the movie was by no means a critical hit, the spin-off was a moderate financial success, making just shy of $179 million at the worldwide box office on a reported $60 million budget.
There were plans for Johnson to return in a sequel, but the movie was shelved until a direct-to-video prequel, The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior, was released in 2008, starring Michael Copon as Mathayus. More followed, starring Victor Webster and Zach McGowan, none of which received theatrical releases. It's recently been reported that Johnson could return as the OG Scorpion King in The Mummy 4.
We recently spoke with Oded Fehr, who played Ardeth Bay, the chief of the Medjai, the Pharaoh's sacred bodyguards. "I've heard many things from a lot of people," he said when asked about a possible return. "I have not been officially approached, but I've heard many things from many people. I'm assuming it's going to happen, and I'm probably as excited as you are about it."
"Big responsibility to try and make a movie that the fans will love as much as the first two, which are the only ones that are important, really. Yeah, I don't know. The Mummy made me into a working actor, and I love the film," the actor continued. "I mean, I love the franchise. I think it still holds up wonderfully, and I love the people that I got to work with. So it'd be incredible to get to do that again."
Stay tuned for updates on The Mummy 4 as we have them.