Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz recently signed on to reprise their roles as Rick and Evelyn O’Connell in the as-yet-untitled fourth installment in The Mummy franchise.
Directing duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (Scream 5-6, Ready or Not), collectively known as Radio Silence, opened up to EW about about how the “dream project” came to be.
“It’s just really, really beautiful and scary and sweeping, and it’s awesome,” Gillet said of the script, written by David Coggeshall (Orphan: First Kill).
Bettinelli-Olpin added that it “had all of the heart and the character that you could hope for.”
He continued, “I don’t think Brendan and Rachel are getting involved unless they love that script, and what they read, I think they really liked. And it’s a good script. It’s gonna be fun to make.”
“It’s not lost on us that we are inheriting now another truly wonderful franchise,” noted Gillett. “We just are so humbled and so grateful to get to continue on.”
The pair credit producer William Sherrick with making it happen after the subject of The Mummy came up while they were working together on the set of Abigail.
“William’s always way ahead of us,” Gillett explained. “Matt and I, what we’re doing next is we’re finishing the day, we have eight setups, and William’s always talking about the next thing. And he was like, ‘Hey, I think I’m gonna get us Mummy.'”
He continued, “In our heads, we’re going, ‘That’d be fucking crazy. There’s no way William’s gonna pull it off.’ Cut to, we’re finishing Abigail, and we’re meeting with Dave Coggeshall, the writer, and we’re designing a pitch.”
A remake of the classic Universal monster movie, The Mummy was released in 1999 and grossed $422.5 million worldwide. It was followed by The Mummy Returns in 2001 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008.
Weisz was recast with Maria Bello in the third installment. When asked if they consider part 3 canon to the new movie, Bettinelli-Olpin replied, “Well, Rachel is in this one.”
“That should answer the question for you,” Gillett added.
The latest installment in the action-adventure horror-comedy franchise is due out on May 19, 2028 via Universal.
Radio Silence’s Ready or Not 2: Here I Come opens in theaters on March 20, while The Mummy Returns heads back to the big screen on March 27 in celebration of its 25th anniversary.
