Universal Pictures is developing a new Mummy film starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, marking their first joint appearance in 25 years. This project comes amid audience weariness with interconnected cinematic universes, prompting studios to return to standalone stories with clear conclusions. The move revives a classic adventure series while signaling a broader shift away from expansive franchises.
The announcement of a new Mummy film reunites Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, who last starred together in 2001's The Mummy Returns, a sequel to the 1999 original. The franchise previously expanded with 2002's spin-off The Scorpion King, featuring Dwayne Johnson, and 2008's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which did not include Weisz. Efforts to build a shared universe faltered in 2017 with Tom Cruise's The Mummy, part of the Dark Universe initiative that also planned roles for Russell Crowe as Dr Jekyll, Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s Monster, and Johnny Depp as The Invisible Man. That vision collapsed after the film's poor reception, leading Universal to focus on standalone projects like Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man, while unproduced elements such as Bardem's and Depp's roles never materialized. Fraser's recent career boost stems from his role in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, and Weisz remains active in the industry. The original Mummy series emerged partly to fill a void left by Steven Spielberg's pause on Indiana Jones films; now, the sequel arrives as the Indiana Jones series appears concluded following the lukewarm response to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Broader trends show fatigue with multiverse sagas: Sony's Spider-Man spinoffs without Spider-Man have faded, DC's The Flash highlighted continuity issues, and Marvel's upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars may serve as a narrative reset. Studios now favor linear narratives over pre-planned macro-sagas, as seen in Marvel's initial success with Iron Man in 2008, where individual films stood alone before crossovers. This new Mummy entry promises a self-contained adventure without extended ties, potentially reviving the appeal of straightforward blockbusters.