Let’s be honest. Nobody really asked for a fourth Mummy film after 2008.
Tomb of the Dragon Emperor left a mess. Rachel Weisz was out, Maria Bello was in, the whole thing moved to China, and the magic just… wasn’t there. $403 million worldwide sounds fine on paper. But fans knew. Fraser knew. Everyone kind of knew.
Then came the Brenaissance. The Whale. The Oscar. Hollywood rediscovering what it had been ignoring for a decade. And somewhere in the middle of all that — Universal picked up the phone. Fraser answered.
August. That’s When It Starts
Principal photography on The Mummy 4 kicks off in August 2026. Release date is May 19, 2028. Nearly two decades after the last one. The gap alone tells you something — this isn’t a cash grab sequel greenlit over a weekend. This one took time to get right.
The first sign came April 8. Universal posted a photo of Fraser on Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood, flanked by directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. “Getting back into character!” read the caption. It was cheesy. It was perfect. The story was first picked up by Bloody Disgusting.
Weisz Is Back. The Third Film Is Dead
This is the big one. Rachel Weisz is returning as Evelyn O’Connell. John Hannah is back as Jonathan. The trio that made the first two films genuinely fun to watch — together again.
When a reporter asked director Bettinelli-Olpin whether Tomb of the Dragon Emperor still counts as canon, he just said: “Rachel is in this one. That should answer the question for you.” – It does.
David Coggeshall wrote the script. Radio Silence described it as “beautiful, scary and sweeping.” Fraser and Weisz reportedly wouldn’t have come back for anything less — they read it, they loved it, they signed on. That’s a good sign.
Fraser Said It Better Than Anyone Could
Asked by the Associated Press how he felt about finally doing this, he didn’t dress it up. “The one I wanted to make was never made. I’ve been waiting 20 years for this call. Now? It’s time to give the fans what they want.”
Twenty years. That’s not promotional talk — that’s real. Fraser spent years out of the spotlight, dealing with things most people in Hollywood don’t want to talk about. The comeback through The Whale felt earned because it was earned. This sequel feels the same way.
The Numbers, for Context
The Mummy (1999) — $80M budget, $417.6M worldwide. The film basically saved Universal’s summer that year. The Mummy Returns (2001) — $98M budget, $435M worldwide. Still the peak. Then Tomb of the Dragon Emperor — $145M spent, $403M back. Technically profitable. Spiritually bankrupt.
The fourth film has a clear target.
What We Know About the Story
Not much, and honestly that’s fine. It picks up after The Mummy Returns, the third film is ignored, and Rick and Evelyn are older. The adventure is back. The humor is back. Universal isn’t giving anything else away yet — which is probably the right call at this stage.
Enough has been said already. Just get it made.
The Mummy 4 — in cinemas May 19, 2028.
Data sources: FilmDB.co.uk and TMDb. Availability of information may vary, and accuracy is not guaranteed.