The directors behind The Mummy 4 have revealed their thoughts on whether the franchise’s divisive third entry, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, will remain canon.
While Tomb of the Dragon Emperor once again featured Brendan Frasier as swashbuckling adventurer Rick O’Connell, Rachel Weisz was replaced as the series’ co-lead Evelyn (a character who was instead played by Maria Bello).
The movie launched to a poor audience and critical response, with a general feeling that the series had now run its course. Plans for further sequels were scrapped in favour of a full reboot, and that was it for Fraser’s iteration of The Mummy franchise — until plans for a long-awaited new entry were confirmed last year.
Following several attempts to reboot The Mummy with new characters (and the lengthy Scorpion King spin-off series that initially starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) both Fraser and Weisz are reuniting for another installment, helmed by director duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.
But where will the action pick up, and do fans need to suffer through Tomb of the Dragon Emperor once again to remember any of the series’ plot?
“Well, Rachel is in this one,” Bettinelli-Olpin said when asked by Entertainment Weekly for a ruling on whether they considered Tomb of the Dragon Emperor to be canon.
“That should answer the question for you,” Gillett then confirmed.
It’s good news, then, for fans of Fraser and Weisz’s original two movies, 1999’s The Mummy and 2001’s The Mummy Returns. Although it does rather suggest The Mummy 4 (which is a working title) may need to be named something else when it does arrive on May 19, 2028.
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett previously directed 2022’s Scream, the fifth installment in that franchise, followed by Scream 6 and 2024 vampire comedy Abigail. The pair’s work have also helmed the forthcoming Ready of Not 2: Here I Come, which debuts later this month.
“I don’t think Brendan and Rachel are getting involved unless they love that script, and what they read, I think they really liked,” Bettinelli-Olpin concluded, discussing why The Mummy’s stars were returning together. “And it’s a good script. It’s gonna be fun to make.”
Image credit: Keith Hamshere/Universal Studios.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
