Universal Pictures
There’s exciting news if you’re a fan of The Mummy movies as Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are returning for Part 4. But if Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is your fave film in the franchise, the news is less positive.
The Mummy is one of the most beloved movies of the 1990s, with audiences continuing to embrace its combination of action, adventure, comedy, and horror.
The chemistry between leads Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz was also a big part of the film’s success, and both actors returned for sequel The Mummy Returns.
But Weisz was nowhere to be seen in threequel The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, with Maria Bello instead playing the role of Evelyn Carnahan. That decision had fans scratching their collective heads, and has meant the makers of The Mummy 4 have a big decision to make.
Rachel Weisz returning means The Mummy 3 isn’t canon
Universal PicturesMaria Bello in The Mummy 3.
It was certainly weird watching a different actress play Brendan Fraser’s wife in The Mummy 3, so EW asked The Mummy 4 directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett if Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is canon.
“Well, Rachel is in this one,” says Gillett, while Bettinelli-Olpin follows up with “That should answer the question for you.” With that answer being “no.”
It won’t be the first time a franchise has ignored previous entries, with the 2018 Halloween erasing decades of continuity, and Terminator: Dark Fate doing much the same to that series a year later.
But it’s also therefore unlikely that any characters introduced in The Mummy 3 will return for The Mummy 4.
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Universal PicturesRachel Weisz was in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns.
The directing duo also revealed what persuaded Fraser and Weisz to sign up for the belated sequel, and it’s all down to Dave Coggeshall’s script.
“It’s just really, really beautiful and scary and sweeping, and it’s awesome,” Gillett says of the screenplay, while Bettinelli-Olpin adds: “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.”
The Mummy 4 is set to hit screen in 2028, while these are the best new movies to watch in cinemas this month, and these are the best movie streaming this month.
