Universal Pictures officially confirmed on Tuesday, February 10, that “The Mummy 4” is officially in the works, following years of rumours and a 2017 reboot that didn’t quite stick the landing.
Academy Award winners Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz will be returning to the blockbuster franchise, with David Coggeshall penning the screenplay.
The original trilogy grossed over $1.8 billion (approximately R30bn) worldwide and became one of Universal’s most successful modern franchises.
The announcement has sent fans into a frenzy, because this marks the first time the duo will share the screen as adventurer Rick O’Connell and Egyptologist Evelyn O’Connell since “The Mummy Returns” in 2001.
While Fraser led the original trilogy, Weisz was absent from the third film and was replaced by Maria Bello.
Her return marks a massive win for fans who have spent over two decades waiting to see the original “mummy-slaying” couple back together.
@marvelquakeposting wrote on Instagram: “OBSESSED 😭😭 I am so happy!”
“I’m screaming, ‘The Mummy’ is my favourite,” commented @its.juanfernando.
The movie will be helmed by directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who brought us the “Scream” franchise and “Ready or Not”, with Fraser noted as one of the executive producers.
Plot details are being kept under wraps for now, but online reports suggest that the project is not a reboot, but rather a sequel that disregards the events of 2008’s “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”, where Weisz was absent.
Gillett previously told “Empire Magazine”: “Having stepped into ‘Scream’, our radar for jumping into another franchise is that it has to feel special, and David Coggeshall’s script really does that. It is very beautiful and sweeping and scary and fun.”
The new film is set to release on May 19, 2028, which is exactly 29 years after the original film first hit cinemas.
