UniversalBrendan Fraser has said he would ‘absolutely’ return to his role as Rick in the beloved Mummy franchise.
Speaking at FAN EXPO in Canada this week, Fraser said he’d be ‘all in’ for a future instalment in the Mummy franchise, which was rebooted in 2017 with Tom Cruise.
When asked by fans whether there were any more Mummy films on the horizon, the actor replied: ‘For me? Do you want one?’ Fans obviously cheered and responded in the affirmative, with Fraser adding: ‘Did you hear that, Universal?’
GettyWhen he was told Universal ‘failed’ to reboot the franchise successfully, Fraser joked: ‘Oh, they did?’ But when asked whether he’d sign up for another reboot, as ComicBook reports, he shouted: ‘Absolutely!’
He added:
Just gotta say, I know how hard it is to make that movie. I tried to do it three times, and the essential ingredient is fun. You gotta remember to have fun. So if there’s a fun way to approach it again, I’m all in.
It’s fair to say the 2017, Tom Cruise-starring reboot of The Mummy wasn’t exactly a hit, with ratings of just 5.5 on IMDb and a poor 35 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. While the 1999, Brendan Fraser-starring The Mummy scores 7.0 and 75 percent on the two sites, so it’s probably safe to say audiences would like to see Fraser back in the ancient Egyptian saddle.
UniversalThe 50-year actor also praised his co-star Rachel Weisz, who starred as Evelyn in 1999’s The Mummy and 2001’s The Mummy Returns.
He said:
Working with Rachel, it’s Rachel f’in Weisz. She’s wonderful, you know, if you’re really impressed with talent and good humor. A belly laugh that could break a window.
I mean, come on. It’s Rachel Weisz, she’s lovely. And believe everything. She got stuck with all the exposition in that show. Which is good, that means all the talking. I was just the guy like, ‘Hurry up, let’s go, come on! That thing is gonna go bang!’ It worked out.
The 2017 reboot was reportedly intended to be the launch of Universal’s ‘Dark Universe’, a similar, far-reaching universe to the MCU, connected by new films of Universal’s classic monsters, such as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
However, with the director of 2017’s The Mummy, Alex Kurtzman, telling The Hollywood Reporter the film ‘wasn’t what I wanted it to be,’ and that making it was ‘painful’ at the time, it could be a while before the studio gives The Mummy a green light again.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.