Universal Pictures is returning to one of its most beloved action-adventure franchises, with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in discussions to return for a new Mummy movie, presumably reprising their roles from the studio’s Mummy films of the ’90s and 2000s, multiple sources tell Deadline.
Reps for Universal Pictures declined to comment, and plot details for the new film are under wraps. But we hear Radio Silence‘s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will direct from a script by David Coggeshall (The Family Plan films, The Deliverance), with franchise veteran Sean Daniel to produce alongside William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, and Paul Neinstein of Project X Entertainment.
The project reunites Radio Silence and Project X following their recent work together rebooting the Scream franchise with films up to, but not including, next year’s Scream 7, which Radio Silence did not direct, but which Project X did produce. Project X most recently teamed with Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett on Ready or Not: Here I Come, a horror sequel for Searchlight Pictures.
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Previously, Fraser and Weisz starred in two Mummy movies together: 1999’s The Mummy and 2001’s The Mummy Returns, both based on one of Universal’s original movie monsters of the early 20th century, both directed by Stephen Sommers, and both grossing over $400 million worldwide. The 1999 film introduced Fraser as Rick O’Connell, a roguish American adventurer and former French Foreign Legion soldier, and Weisz as Evelyn Carnahan, an English Egyptologist working at the Cairo Museum of Antiquities. Over the course of the two films, the pair go from reluctant partners to a married couple with a young son, battling ancient curses from the likes of the resurrected Egyptian high priest Imhotep. Weisz’s Evelyn dies in the second film, after discovering she’s the reincarnation of an Egyptian princess, though she’s ultimately revived by Rick.
Contributing to Fraser’s rise as one of the biggest stars of the late ’90s and early 2000s, these particular Mummy films were so popular they were spun off into famed attractions for Universal parks in Hollywood, Orlando, FL and Singapore. The franchise continued with 2002’s spinoff The Scorpion King, starring Dwayne Johnson, which grossed over $180 million worldwide, as well as 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor ($403 million global), where Fraser returned without Weisz under the direction of Rob Cohen.
Universal most recently attempted to revitalize the IP with 2017’s The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise, which was intended to launch a new series of monster movies under the banner of the Dark Universe. While the film performed solidly at the box office — taking in $409 million worldwide — it was critically panned, leading Universal to scrap its broader Dark Universe plans.
Turning back to The Mummy franchise makes perfect sense for Universal, given the real wave of millennial nostalgia for both all things Fraser and his Mummy films, in particular. This built-in fandom would be an asset at a time when the studio has fared poorly at the box office with its attempts at modern movie monster flicks including Abigail, directed by the duo from Radio Silence.
Radio Silence’s next film, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come — following up their Samara Weaving-led 2019 hit Ready or Not — hits theaters on April 10, 2026. The filmmaking collective is repped by Brillstein, CAA, and Tara Kole.
Catching a second wind in his career following his Academy Award win for The Whale, Fraser is back on the awards circuit this season with Searchlight’s Rental Family, directed by Hikari, which releases November 21. He is repped by CAA, Linden Entertainment, and Felker Toczek Suddleson.
Also an Oscar winner, Weisz is coming off projects including Prime Video’s Dead Ringers and Marvel’s Black Widow. She is repped by CAA, Independent Talent Group, Linden Entertainment, and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum.
Coggeshall is repped by Writ Large, WME, and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.