For the first time in nearly two decades, The Mummy will return to the spotlight with a long-anticipated fourth movie in the fan-favorite action franchise. While plot details are still being kept under wraps, this will be the first new addition to the story since 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which replaced about half of its main cast and became the worst-performing movie in the trilogy critically (13% average positive critics score on Rotten Tomatoes) and financially ($405 million at the global box office). Now, Universal Pictures is going back to what fans know and love for the next adventure.
As part of a career resurgence, The Mummy 4 will bring back Oscar winner Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell, one of the most iconic roles of his career. Additionally, Rachel Weisz was confirmed to return as Evelyn O’Connell after being recast for Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and John Hannah is locked in to reprise his role as Evelyn’s brother, Jonathan Carnahan. While news on this movie’s cast has been scarce, Fraser has often discussed wanting to get the whole team back from the original movies for this follow-up effort. This idea also moves further into reality with the latest update.
Deadline reported that Universal Pictures will bring back Kevin J. O’Connor and Oded Fehr to reprise their roles in the upcoming fourth The Mummy movie. O’Connor first played Beni Gabor in 1999’s The Mummy, but he was seemingly killed off after being trapped inside the collapsing city of Hamunaptra and eaten alive by flesh-eating scarab beetles. Meanwhile, Fehr captivated audiences in the first two movies as Ardeth Bay, the warrior chief of the Medjai, an ancient and secret society of elite warriors sworn to protect Egypt and prevent the evil high priest Imhotep from coming back to life. Additionally, Young Sherlock star Numan Acar was cast in an undisclosed role in the sequel.
While Fehr’s return is one many fans hoped for and expected after the first two movies, O’Connor’s casting is a pleasant surprise after he stole the show as Beni 27 years ago. His antics with Rick O’Connell and his moments of sheer terror in front of Arnold Vosloo’s Imhotep helped the movie become an instant classic, even though it ended with his brutal death. However, some are already theorizing that he could come back as the next undead mummy the O’Connell family will have to face, which would make for a wild twist of fate.
For now, The Mummy 4 is expected to begin shooting in the next few weeks, with filming said to continue through the end of the year. At the very least, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have all but confirmed that this movie will ignore what took place in the third movie and only be regarded as canon to the films from 1999 and 2001. With most of the original cast now locked in for the cast, fans now eagerly wait to find out more details about what kind of mayhem Fraser and the rest of the team will get into in the next chapter.
Release Date
May 19, 2028
Director
Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
Writers
David Coggeshall
Producers
James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein, Sean Daniel, William Sherak