Movies
Universal’s ‘Ouija’ Once Again Points To “Yes”
Super brief news as Universal’s Ouija once again points to “Yes”.
Ouija is reaching out from the beyond, as Universal has assigned the Hasbro project to Platinum Dunes and Blumhouse after halting production and putting it into turnaround late last year, reports Variety.
A contributing factor to the change of heart? Well, for starters the budget has been slashed from $100 Million to $5 Million. Talk about aggressive, and smart, cost cutting. While big budget films are occasionally warranted (and a lot of fun) it’s nice to see that we may be entering an era in which we see some of the artistic freedom associated with lowers costs make a comeback.
Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller will produce through Platinum Dunes, with Jason Blum producing through Blumhouse and Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir producing for Hasbro.
The terrible McG was at one time attached, hopefully that has changed. Based on the board game, this was originally conceived as a big budget family adventure film in the tone of The Mummy, set in multiple locations around the world. Action-adventure horror story in which a group of twenty-somethings violate all the mythic “don’ts” of the Ouija board and unleash a Pandora’s Box type of evil spirit bent on revenge. 
Brendan Fraser is back for the upcoming fourth installment in The Mummy franchise from directors Radio Silence, and Michael Johnston (Obsession) is now in talks to join him.
The Hollywood Reporter lets us know tonight that Michael Johnston is in “early talks” to join The Mummy 4, which will release in theaters on October 15, 2027 via Universal.
Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah will reprise their iconic roles as Rick O’Connell, Evelyn O’Connell, and Jonathan Carnahan in the upcoming movie.
Radio Silence duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not, Scream 5-6) are directing from a script by David Coggeshall (Orphan: First Kill).
Plot details are being kept under wraps at this time, but the brand new sequel is expected to disregard the events of the third movie, in which Rachel Weisz did not appear.
“It’s just really beautiful and scary and sweeping, and it’s awesome,” Gillet teases. Bettinelli-Olpin adds that the film “has all of the heart and the character that you could hope for.”
A remake of the classic Universal monster movie that took an action-adventure approach, The Mummy was released in 1999 and grossed $417 million worldwide. It was followed by The Mummy Returns in 2001 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008.