Between 1999 and 2008, Brendan Fraser starred in three movies based on the Universal classic monster The Mummy. All three were hits, making over $400 million each, and have only grown in reputation since, as beloved nostalgic adventure movies.
Lest we forget, in 2017, there was an ill-advised reboot of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise. It was intended to launch a Dark Universe franchise co-starring Russell Crowe, Johnny Depp, and Javier Bardem – and there is a famous photoshoot of them all together – but mysteriously, it never got off the ground.
Now that Brendan Fraser is back in the limelight with his much-praised Oscar-tipped performance in The Whale, he is inevitably being asked about returning to The Mummy. “I don’t know how it would work,” he admitted to Variety. “But I’d be open to it if someone came up with the right conceit.” Director Stephen Sommers says that Fraser was cast because; “he could throw a punch and take a punch and he had a great sense of humour. You really like the guy. He never comes across as cocky or arrogant.”
Speaking of the 2017 Tom Cruise movie, Fraser says; “It is hard to make that movie. The ingredient that we had going for our Mummy, which I didn’t see in that film (2017), was fun. That was what was lacking in that incarnation. It was too much of a straight-ahead horror movie. The Mummy should be a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary.”
“I know how difficult it is to pull it off,” Fraser adds. “I tried to do it three times.”
Fraser has had many ups and downs in his career, and is currently riding a strong wave of goodwill for what is considered his “comeback” in The Whale. We’ll have to wait to see what this new phase of his career will bring…
In the meantime, check out our guide to the best monster movies.