Actor Brendan Fraser has announced the start of filming the fourth installment of The Mummy

American actor Brendan Fraser has announced the start of filming for a new installment in the Mummy adventure franchise. The actor will once again play the adventurer Rick O'Connell, and Rachel Weisz will return to the role of his wife Evelyn. Production of the painting started on September 7, 2026. About who else will appear in the sequel, why the third part of the series may not be taken into account, and when the new "Mummy" will be released, see the Izvestia article.

Rick O'Connell is back at work.

Brendan Fraser spoke about the start of production during the American Film Festival in Deauville. In an interview with the French TV channel Canal+ The actor noted that on the morning of September 7 he should start working on a new "Mummy". Thus, the filming period of the film, which lasted several months in preparation, officially entered the active phase.

Fraser made no secret of the fact that he had long wanted to play Rick again. After the first reports about the development of a sequel appeared, he admitted that he "had been waiting for this for 20 years." According to the actor, the new film should give viewers exactly the adventure they expected from the franchise.

The old team is almost fully assembled

The main news for fans was the return of Rachel Weisz. She will once again play Egyptologist Evelyn O'Connell— one of the central characters of the first two films. Fraser and Weiss first appeared together in "The Mummy" in 1999. Their characters have gone from casual partners forced to flee from the resurrected priest Imhotep to a married couple who continued to fight the ancient forces in the 2001 film The Mummy Returns.

Other familiar faces also joined the cast. John Hannah will once again play Jonathan Carnahan, Evelyn's brother, whose love of money and trouble provided a significant part of the comedy scenes of the first films.

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Oded Fehr will return to the image of the warrior-majai Ardet Bey. Kevin J. O'Connor, who played the explorer and traitor Beni Gabor in the first "Mummy", will appear in the project with him. Beni's return raises especially many questions. In the finale of the 1999 film, the character dies after being trapped in a dungeon with scarabs. So far, the creators have not explained whether the hero will appear in flashbacks, be resurrected, or get another place in the new story.

Michael Johnston and Numan Ajar are among the new participants. Information about their characters is not disclosed. The participation of Arnold Voslu, who played Imhotep, has also been officially confirmed: his return was announced back in June, and this was later confirmed by relevant publications.

Why Rachel Weisz's Return Changes the Whole Story

Rachel Weisz played Evelyn in the first two films, but did not participate in the third film, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, released in 2008. Then Maria Bello played the role of Rick's wife. The replacement of the actress was one of the most notable changes in the franchise. Together with the transfer of the action from Egypt to China, it reinforced the feeling that the third "Mummy" exists separately from the first two adventures.

The return of Weiss allows us to restore one of the main components of the success of the original films — the relationship between Rick and Evelyn. The first "Mummy" was based not only on chases, ancient curses and large-scale scenes, but also on the contrast between the characters: educated and passionate about the story of Evelyn and Rick, accustomed to relying on weapons and luck.

Over the years, the status of the main cast members has also changed. Fraser won an Oscar for the drama "The Whale," and Weiss is the winner of the award for the film "The Devoted Gardener."

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What will the new "Mummy" be about?

The creators have not yet explained what place the new film will occupy in the chronology. However, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have made it clear that the events of "Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" may not be crucial to the sequel.

When the directors were asked if the third part would remain canon, they drew the attention of journalists to the return of Rachel Weisz. According to them, this fact alone should partially answer the question. This approach allows the authors to continue the events of "The Mummy Returns" without explaining the replacement of Evelyn in the third film. At the same time, Universal did not officially announce the exclusion of the 2008 film from the history of the franchise.

Judging by the known details, the new tape belongs to the successor sequel format, which is popular in Hollywood. Such films bring back the key characters of the original, at the same time introduce the audience to new characters and can selectively take into account the events of the later parts.

Why Universal is going back to the old "Mummy"

The original "The Mummy" directed by Steven Sommers was released in 1999. The film combines the atmosphere of classic monster movies with a large-scale adventure in the spirit of the Indiana Jones stories. Her success allowed the release of the sequel "The Mummy Returns", spin-offs about the Scorpion King and the third part of the main series.

In 2017, Universal tried to relaunch the story with Tom Cruise in the title role. The film was supposed to be the starting point for the general cinematic universe of classic Dark Universe monsters. However, the planned series in its original form never took place.

Now the studio is actually returning to the version of the franchise that viewers associate with Brendan Fraser. For the project, this is not only a bid for recognition, but also an opportunity to appeal to an audience that grew up watching adventure films from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

At the same time, the new picture should also interest viewers who are not familiar with the previous trilogy. That is why new characters are added to the old characters, and directors known for modern horror films are responsible for the production.

On August 28, Medialogia presented the Russian series rating for July of this year. The leader among the 30 projects was the Russian novelty "The Story of his Handmaid", which scored 2,325 points. The second place was taken by the American TV series "House of the Dragon" (1824 points), and the third place was taken by the Russian project "Cold" (1580 points). The top five also included "Boys" (1546 points) and anime "Magic Battle" (1352 points).