Brendan Fraser & Rachel Weisz’s The Mummy 4 Return Is Officially Ignoring 16-Year-Old Critically Panned Sequel In Canon

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The Mummy 4 is ignoring the franchise’s worst sequel.

I have a soft spot for The Mummy from 1999 – it was such a fun adventure and really launched Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as this amazing on-screen duo, Rick O’Connell and Evelyn. They were great together in The Mummy Returns a couple of years later. Sadly, the third film, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), didn’t quite hit the mark, and while Brendan Fraser was back, Rachel Weisz was replaced by Maria Bello as Evelyn. It just wasn’t the same, honestly.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet (of Radio Silence) confirmed that their new Mummy film won’t consider the events of Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – and its different cast – to be part of the official storyline. Bettinelli-Olpin explained, “Rachel is in this one,” which Gillet followed up by saying, “That should answer the question for you.” This confirms the return of Rachel Weisz and disregards the previous film’s continuity.

The filmmakers aren’t sharing many details about the next movie, but Bettinelli-Olpin says the script, written by David Coggeshall, is full of genuine emotion and strong characters. He added that it has “all the heart and character you could hope for.”

Brendan and Rachel will probably only work on this project if they’re passionate about the script, but from what I understand, they really enjoyed it. It’s a strong script, and the movie will be a lot of fun to create.

The first two Mummy films, directed by Stephen Sommers, were popular with moviegoers. While critics had mixed opinions about the second movie, both films were celebrated for their exciting adventures and the charming performances of Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, who played Rick and Evelyn as they battled a determined mummy.

Rob Cohen directed Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which shifted the action from Egypt to China and introduced Rick and Evelyn’s son, Alexander (played by Luke Ford). While the movie made money, it didn’t perform as well as the earlier films and received negative reviews, earning only a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

While we don’t have many details about the fourth Mummy movie yet, recent news confirms that Tomb of the Dragon Emperor isn’t considered part of the official storyline. This means actor Oded Fehr likely won’t reprise his role as Ardeth Bay, and the film might present a different number of children for the characters Rick and Evelyn O’Connell.

Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li, and Liam Cunningham – all of whom appeared in the third Mummy movie – don’t seem to be involved in the new film. So far, only Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz have been confirmed to return. While no other cast members have been announced, John Hannah and Oded Fehr, who played Jonathan and Ardeth Bay, have both said they’d like to reprise their roles.

Now that the script for The Mummy 4 is finished and approved by stars Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, and with a release date planned for May 19, 2028, we can expect more information about the cast and plot soon. Unlike previous installments, you won’t need to rewatch Tomb of the Dragon Emperor to get ready for this new film.

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2026-03-03 01:02