Brendan Fraser said he’s doing his best to get in shape as he trains for the long-awaited return of Rick O’Connell in The Mummy 4.
The actor who led Universal Pictures’ popular Mummy franchise from 1999 to 2008 commented on and confirmed his involvement in the 18-years-in-the-making movie during an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He stopped short of spilling too many beans about how the film will pick the story back up, but he did have one request for fans: “Please wish me luck.”
“I was hopeful for a long while, and then I was like, ‘No, I don’t know if they are,’ you know. Other Mummy movies got made and…” Fraser said regarding his one-time dampened expectations for a fourth Mummy movie. “But anyway, look, what we’re going to do is saddle back up, go back to the locations… I should probably stop talking like this because I don’t want to give everything away.”
“However,” he continued, “please wish me luck. I’m doing my best to get this 57-year-old gear in shape.”
Not to be confused with Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, which premiered in theaters April 17, 2026, Fraser’s series began with the release of The Mummy in 1999 and offered a more action-adventure-style take on a classic horror icon. Also featuring Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, and more, the movie attracted a dedicated fan base, who then showed up for its sequel, The Mummy Returns, in 2001.
It continued with a third mainline film, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, in 2008, but diminished box office returns and poor scores from critics have left the Fraser-focused franchise entombed since. As the years have passed, however, fans have longed for a return to what is now seen as a quintessential 2000s film series, and as announced late last year, they will get their wish.
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Fraser and Weisz have been tapped to return, with The Mummy 4 set with an October 15, 2027, release date following a schedule change from Universal last month. Hannah was also confirmed to return earlier this year.
“We’re going to get the band back together. The only way to do it, right?” Fraser said elsewhere during the interview. “So, we’re going to give the audience what they have been bothering us all for, for the last 20-whatever years.”
For more on The Mummy, you can read our reviews for the first, second, and third films in the series. You can also see what we thought of Fraser’s work in Darren Aronofsky’s 2022 film, The Whale.
Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
