Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz tipped to reunite for new The Mummy sequel - here's everything we know

Brendan Fraser has been enjoying a brilliant career comeback in recent years – with an Oscar-winning role in The Whale, a brief but key supporting part in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, and an acclaimed turn in upcoming film Rental Family.

Given that renewed success, it was perhaps only a matter of time before he was called on to reprise his most iconic role. And now it's being reported that exactly that is on the cards: Fraser will be reuniting with Rachel Weisz for a fourth entry in The Mummy franchise.

The news was broken by Variety yesterday (Tuesday 4th November), with the publication reporting that the new film will be helmed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the directing duo known as Radio Silence who have previously been known for excelling in the horror genre with films such as Ready or Not and the 2022 Scream reboot.

It's been 17 years since Fraser last played adventurer Rick O'Connell in 2008's widely derided third film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, for which Weisz did not return and was replaced as Evelyn Carnahan by Maria Bello.

Some reports have claimed the new film will ignore the events of that movie, although this is unconfirmed at this stage.

The opening two instalments in the series, 1999's The Mummy and 2001's The Mummy Returns, both remain firm favourites with many fans despite mixed reviews from critics – and the hope will be that a fourth film can recapture that appeal.

Of course, an attempt was made to reboot the franchise in a different direction back in 2017, with Tom Cruise playing the lead in a film that was intended to be the first part of Universal's new Dark Universe.

However, a dreadful critical and commercial reception to the film led to the whole universe being scrapped, and unsurprisingly, no sequel to that film was ever suggested.

Fraser had previously shown a willingness to step back into the role while he was promoting The Whale in 2022, telling Variety at the time that he'd "be open to it, if someone came up with the right conceit".

Based on these reports, it looks like someone has indeed come up with the right conceit, although with no plot details having been made public at this early stage we'll have to wait a little while longer before we know what that might be – or when we can expect to see it.

We'll certainly be on the hunt for any updates in the weeks and months ahead....

The first three films in The Mummy franchise are currently available to stream on Sky Movies and NOW.

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