The Mummy franchise is coming back with Brendan Fraser back as adventure hunter Rick O’Connell, returning for the first time in 17 years. According to Fraser himself, this was the Mummy movie he always wanted to make, but which was never made. It also comes after a failed Mummy reboot in the 2010s with Tom Cruise.
The best news is that Fraser isn’t coming back to the Mummy franchise alone, and his best love interest is also coming back with him. Outside the two leads, there are no other confirmed returning stars, although there are some rumors of others coming back, with the idea that The Mummy 4 will bring fun back to the franchise.
Brendan Fraser As Rick O’Connell
The first guaranteed name returning to The Mummy cast is Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell. He has also done interviews and is very excited about returning to the franchise. In his discussion about the film, he said that the reason Tom Cruise’s movie failed is that it tried to be straight horror, and Mummy films need to be fun.
That speaks volumes, and it shows that fans who loved the original Mummy movies should have the same feel as those first two movies. There was also talk that this would follow the first two installments and ignore the third. Fraser also said that he’s making the story he wanted after those first two films.
According to Fraser, the third movie had Rick go to China simply to tie in with the Olympics that year. However, he considers it a standalone film and not part of the series. Now, he said he has a chance to continue the original story with The Mummy 4.
Rick O’Connell was the hero from the three main Mummy movies, a treasure hunter in the design of Indiana Jones, but one who has to deal with a resurrected mummy named Imhotep, and who has to fight for his life when he encounters this supernatural being on a recent expedition.
At the end of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, he and his wife, Evelyn, joined their son Alex (Luke Ford) to find Shangri-La. It is unclear if this version of their son will exist in the new movie, as it might ignore this third film in the series.
Rachel Weisz As Evelyn O’Connell
The best news about The Mummy 4 cast is that Rachel Weisz will be back as Evelyn O’Connell. In the first film, Weisz played Evelyn Carnahan, Rick’s love interest, a British librarian and Egyptologist at the Cairo Museum of Antiquities. She and her brother, Jonathan, accompany Rick as he heads to the lost city of Hamunaptra in the first film.
Weisz was back in the second movie as Evelyn O’Connell, now married to Rick and with a young son. However, they end up back on a new adventure when she learns she is the reincarnation of the Egyptian princess Nefertiri, the daughter of the Pharaoh whom Imhotep and Anck-su-namun killed. This plays into classic Mummy movie tropes.
What disappointed most fans is that Weisz left the franchise, and Maria Bello replaced her in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. With The Mummy 4 possibly ignoring that film, there is no telling where Evelyn and Rick are in their lives, but the fact that Weisz is returning as Evelyn is exciting for fans of the original films.
No matter what her relationship status with Rick is, the return of Rachel Weisz fixes one of the biggest complaints from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Recasting her role was a mistake, and no matter how great Maria Ballo is, she couldn’t replicate the chemistry that Weisz had with Fraser in the first two films.
John Hannah Rumored As Jonathan Carnahan
With Rachel Weisz returning as Evelyn O’Connell in The Mummy 4, there is a good chance that John Hannah could also return as her brother, Jonathan Carnahan, although this is not yet confirmed. However, out of all the original cast members, Hannah is the name that has come up the most in casting rumors.
This is one of the most important returns after Fraser and Weisz because he was the perfect bumbling sidekick and was a great source of comic relief during the action-adventure movie. His banter with the other characters was also always fun, and it would be weird to see Evelyn without her brother being close by.
Jonathan was last seen in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and unlike Rick and Evelyn, he wanted to be nowhere near any mummies or other supernatural entities. However, somehow dragging him back into another adventure could add to the entertainment value of The Mummy 4, and he is someone who needs to return for this film.
Arnold Vosloo Rumored As Imhotep
Every Mummy movie needs a villain, and one rumored idea is for The Mummy 4 to bring back its original villain. The best thing about a film like this is that returning someone who was already beaten and who is dead is easy, since they were also dead before they arrived in the first movie in the franchise.
Arnold Vosloo played the mummy Imhotep in the first two movies. In mythology, he was a High Priest of Osiris in 12900 BC and ended up cursed to be a mummy when he tried to revive Pharaoh Seti’s mistress, Anck-su-namun. He last appeared in the second film, but in the third, Rick said he “put him down twice.“
That second film ended with Anck-su-namun betraying Imhotep, so he allowed himself to be cast into the pit of the Underworld. Having Imhotep back for one more battle with Rick O’Connell could make this worth the price of admission on its own.
Someone who hasn’t been mentioned was Patricia Velásquez as Anck-su-namun. Her story connecting her with Evelyn (who was reincarnated as the former secret lover of Imhotep) ended in The Mummy Returns. Unlike Imhotep, who went into the Underworld, she fell into a pit of scorpions and died.
Oded Fehr Rumored As Ardeth Bay
Much like how John Hannah needs to return as Jonathan Carnahan for comic relief, Oded Fehr also needs to return as a connection to the adventures that Rick O’Connell and Evelyn go on together. What is most disappointing about Ardeth Bay is that he never appeared in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and there was no explanation.
Ardeth Bay was the leader of the Medjai, a group of nomadic protectors who served since the days of the pharaohs. His job in the first movie was to prevent the resurrection of Imhotep at all costs. However, he chose not to kill Rick, Evelyn, and Jonathan, and instead worked as an ally to stop Imhotep.
In The Mummy Returns, Bay was back because he needed to stop the release of the Scorpion King, and then he had to help fight Imhotep, who was back again with Anck-su-namun. He never showed up in the third movie, which made sense because that film had nothing to do with Imhotep.
That said, there have been social media rumors spreading that claim that Oded Fehr is returning for the new movie. Fehr has said in the past that he would be interested in coming back if there was another Mummy movie, and his return could go a long way in making this more of a reunion than a loosely based sequel.
If Imhotep does return as the villain in The Mummy 4 cast, the film would have to bring back Ardeth Bay, because he remains tied with that legend, and seeing him back and fighting alongside Rick O’Connell again would be a great treat for fans of the franchise.
Dwayne Johnson Rumored As The Scorpion King
The least likely to return, but a name that could be a fun addition to The Mummy 4 cast is Dwayne Johnson coming back as The Scorpion King. When Johnson appeared in The Mummy Returns, it was his first acting role, and he was still listed in the credits as The Rock, his wrestling persona.
That appearance was also heavily derided thanks to the almost video game-like animation his character undertook, which looked terrible. He did get a better chance to show his worth in the spinoff movie, The Scorpion King, although that story didn’t match up to the first two Mummy movies, concerning box office or critical acclaim.
Having Dwayne Johnson back could be risky. After years of being portrayed as a good guy in Hollywood, recent projects have shown him becoming very possessive and dominating, and the last thing The Mummy 4 needs is someone on the set who is trying to make demands. This needs to remain Brendan Fraser’s movie.
Having Dwayne Johnson in a significant role in the new Mummy movie would be a mistake, but having him show up in a small cameo appearance, or as a minor character, at best, could be a fun callback for fans of the original Mummy movies. Regardless, Johnson would provide more star power for The Mummy 4 cast.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
