In the sun-bleached labyrinths of ancient Egypt, where the Nile’s whisper carries curses older than the pyramids and scarab beetles skitter like secrets in the shadows, adventure has always been a gamble with eternity. For a generation raised on the roar of biplanes and the crack of bullwhips, The Mummy franchise remains the gold standard of swashbuckling spectacle—a blend of Indiana Jones bravado, Hammer Horror chills, and romantic sparks that lit up the late ’90s like a scarab amulet in torchlight. When Stephen Sommers’ 1999 reboot exhumed Imhotep from the dunes with Brendan Fraser’s roguish Rick O’Connell and Rachel Weisz’s whip-smart Evelyn “Evy” Carnahan at its heart, it didn’t just gross over $416 million worldwide; it resurrected a Universal Monster for the blockbuster age. Sequels followed—The Mummy Returns in 2001, a family-fueled frenzy that raked in $433 million, and the uneven Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008—but the magic dimmed without Weisz’s return, her Evy recast and the series stumbling into a Tom Cruise-led reboot that buried the Dark Universe before it could rise. Now, on the heels of a bombshell announcement that’s sent social media into a sandstorm of hype, Universal Pictures is dusting off the sarcophagus for The Mummy 4: a legacy sequel poised to hoist the mainsail on nostalgia, with Fraser and Weisz reuniting as the O’Connells for the first time since their daughter was a toddler in the second film. Can’t wait to see the beautiful Rachel Weisz in The Mummy part 4 coming soon? You’re not alone—the internet’s already chanting her name like a chant to Anubis, and for good reason: at 55, the Oscar-winning enchantress is set to remind us why Evy Carnahan remains the franchise’s beating, bandaged heart.
The news broke like a tomb seal cracking under pressure: on November 4, 2025, Deadline dropped the exclusive that Fraser and Weisz were in advanced talks to reprise their iconic roles, with directing duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett—collectively known as Radio Silence—attached to helm the project. Scripted by David Coggeshall (The Deliverance, Now You See Me 2), the untitled fourth installment picks up as a direct sequel to The Mummy Returns, wisely ignoring the third film’s dragon emperor detour and Maria Bello’s ill-fated Evy stand-in. No plot details have spilled from the sphinx’s mouth yet, but insiders whisper of a globe-trotting odyssey blending high-stakes relic hunts with personal reckonings: Rick and Evy, now seasoned parents in their mid-50s, thrust back into the fray when a long-dormant curse threatens their grown daughter (rumors swirl of a fresh face like Anya Taylor-Joy or Florence Pugh stepping in). Expect the series’ signature cocktail—tongue-in-cheek humor amid heart-pounding set pieces, ancient evils rising from forgotten vaults, and that unmistakable romantic tension between Fraser’s wisecracking everyman and Weisz’s erudite firebrand. With a budget eyeing the $150-200 million mark (rivaling the original’s inflation-adjusted heft), production is slated to kick off in spring 2026 across Morocco’s majestic dunes, London’s fog-shrouded soundstages, and possibly Egypt’s Valley of the Kings for that authentic aura of antiquity. A summer 2028 release feels like the sweet spot, giving Universal time to build buzz amid its monster revival push.
At the epicenter of this resurrection stands Rachel Weisz, the Cambridge-born vision whose turn as Evy catapulted her from indie darling (Stealing Beauty, I Want You) to global icon. In 1999, at just 28, Weisz embodied the plucky librarian with a PhD in ancient tongues and a knack for dispatching mummies with improvised explosives—her Evy wasn’t the damsel but the dynamo, translating hieroglyphs mid-chase and sharing sparks with Fraser’s Rick that felt as timeless as the Nile itself. “Evy’s my favorite role—fierce, funny, and utterly fearless,” Weisz reflected in a rare 2022 Vanity Fair retrospective, her eyes twinkling with the memory of sand-swept shoots that left her caked in makeup and mirth. Absent from the third film due to a newborn son (Henry, born in 2007) and script qualms that reduced Evy to a sidelined spouse, Weisz’s return feels like poetic justice—a chance to reclaim the character on her terms, now as a wiser, world-weary matriarch whose intellect remains sharper than any khopesh blade. Post-Mummy, Weisz’s career soared: an Oscar for The Constant Gardener (2005) as a crusading activist, another nod for The Favourite (2018) as the scheming Lady Sarah, and recent turns in Black Widow (2021) as a steely Soviet spy and the upcoming Netflix thriller Vladimir opposite Cate Blanchett. At 55, she’s a paragon of poised power—elegant in emerald gowns at galas, yet game for grit, her recent Dead Ringers miniseries showcasing a surgical precision that could dissect a curse as deftly as a cadaver. Fans aren’t just eager; they’re ecstatic, flooding TikTok with edits of her Evy quips over orchestral swells, captioned “Queen of the Nile is BACK—serve that scarab slay!”
No Evy revival would sail without Brendan Fraser as her steadfast co-pilot, Rick O’Connell—the rumpled rogue whose boyish charm and bullet-dodging bravado made him the perfect foil to Weisz’s wit. Fraser’s arc mirrors the franchise’s own: the 1999 hit launched him into A-list orbit, but personal tempests—health woes, industry blackballing after his 2018 HFPA assault allegation—sidelined him for a decade. His phoenix-like return in The Whale (2022), earning a Best Actor Oscar for his gut-wrenching portrayal of a reclusive teacher, proved the magic was eternal. “Rick’s the everyman hero—flawed, funny, and fights for family,” Fraser told Variety during awards season, coyly nodding to sequel dreams: “If the sands call, I’d grab my revolver.” Now 56, Fraser’s bulked up for the role (think tactical vests over dad bods), promising a Rick who’s traded youthful swagger for seasoned savvy—perhaps mentoring a new generation while bantering with Evy like newlyweds rediscovering their fire. Their chemistry, that electric push-pull of sarcasm and sincerity, was the originals’ secret sauce; 24 years on, it’s poised to be the sequel’s elixir, with early concept art teasing dune buggy chases and pyramid plunges that echo the first film’s feverish fun.
Radio Silence’s helm adds a fresh scarab to the mix—the Ready or Not (2019) architects and Scream (2022-2023) revivalists bring a horror-honed edge to the adventure. Their filmography screams (pun intended) high-octane thrills laced with meta-wit: the bride’s bloody wedding night in Ready or Not, the slasher savvy of Abigail (2024). “We’re honoring the originals’ heart-pounding escapism while injecting our brand of breathless tension,” Bettinelli-Olpin teased at a D23 Expo panel, hinting at practical effects—real sandstorms, puppet mummies over CGI hordes—to recapture the tactile terror. Coggeshall’s script, per leaks, leans into legacy themes: aging gracefully amid eternal threats, the O’Connells confronting a curse tied to their own past meddlings. Returning faces? Fingers crossed for John Hannah’s bumbling Jonathan Carnahan, the comic relief whose artifact-hoarding antics stole scenes, or Oded Fehr’s stoic Ardeth Bay, the Medjai guardian whose brooding allure could spark a mentor dynamic. New blood might include a tech-savvy millennial relic hunter (think a Gen-Z Indiana) to bridge eras, ensuring the franchise doesn’t mummify in nostalgia.
The timing couldn’t be more providential. Universal’s monster mash has been a mixed bag: the 2017 Cruise reboot, a $125 million misfire that earned $409 million but critical catcalls for its humorless horror, torpedoed the Dark Universe before takeoff. Yet the winds of revival blow fierce—Wolf Man (2025) howled to $150 million on a lean budget, Blumhouse’s The Mummy (April 2026, directed by Lee Cronin) promises a gore-soaked standalone, and now this legacy sequel joins the fray, potentially launching a two-pronged assault on audiences hungry for horror-adventure hybrids. Fraser’s post-Whale glow-up—Brothers (2024) with Peter Sarsgaard, a Batemobile cameo—positions him as Hollywood’s comeback king, while Weisz’s prestige pedigree (The Deep Blue Sea revival on stage) ensures gravitas amid the gags. Fan fervor is feverish: #Mummy4 trended worldwide post-announcement, with X posts like “Rachel Weisz as Evy at 55? Iconic aging like fine sand—pour it!” amassing millions of likes. Reddit’s r/UniversalMonsters buzzes with theories—will Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo?) resurrect, or a fresh pharaoh rise?—while TikTok cosplayers channel Weisz’s bookish brio in thrift-store khakis and kohl-lined eyes. “It’s the reunion we manifested,” one viral reel declares, splicing Mummy clips with The Favourite‘s ferocity.
What elevates The Mummy 4 beyond mere nostalgia is its nod to evolution. The originals thrived on ’90s optimism—Fraser’s Rick cracking wise amid apocalyptic scarabs, Weisz’s Evy wielding knowledge as her katana— but this sequel arrives in a post-pandemic world craving connection and catharsis. Evy’s return, post-maternity leave and career zeniths, spotlights women reclaiming agency: no longer the wide-eyed scholar, but a tenured professor whose curses she deciphers with digital databases and maternal steel. Fraser’s Rick, scarred by time but unbowed, echoes his own real-life resilience—a meta-layer that could infuse the film with earned emotion. Radio Silence’s touch promises escalation: think Ready or Not‘s claustrophobic chaos in catacombs, Scream‘s self-aware jabs at sequel tropes (“Another mummy? We’ve wrapped this up before”). Practical stunts—horseback pursuits through bazaars, trap-laden tomb crawls—will ground the spectacle, while a score blending Jerry Goldsmith’s orchestral swells with modern percussion evokes the era’s epic pulse.
As pre-production pyramids rise—scouts scouting Siwa Oasis for authenticity, wardrobe whipping up linen-wrapped wonders—the anticipation builds like a gathering sandstorm. Universal’s gamble pays homage to the franchise’s roots: not a gritty reboot, but a bridge from yesteryear’s thrills to tomorrow’s terrors, with Weisz as its luminous lodestar. Her Evy, ever the beacon in the blackout of antiquity, promises to dazzle anew—beautiful, brilliant, and unbreakable. In a cinematic landscape littered with reboots that rise and fall like Tantalus’ tides, The Mummy 4 feels like destiny’s dig: unearthing treasures long buried, reminding us why we fell for the O’Connells in the first place. The sands are shifting, the curses calling—Evy’s return isn’t just welcome; it’s wondrous. Mark your calendars, adventurers; the Black Pearl of blockbusters sails again, and Rachel Weisz is steering straight for our hearts.
