The franchise The Mummy from Universal Pictures is «back from the dead.» Brendan Fraserwho headed the trilogy of films made between 1999 and 2008, and Rachel Weiszprotagonist of the first two installments, are in negotiations to star a fourth installment of the saga.
As reported The Hollywood Reporterthis project will not be a reboot, but rather a sequel that it would «ignore the events of the third film.»
The original 1999 film, which combined action, adventure and romance with horror in a period setting, established Fraser as a leading man. In that tape, Fraser played a treasure hunter who travels to Egypt in the 1920s with a feisty librarian, played by Weisz.
Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz would be in negotiations to reprise their roles in a fourth installment of the saga. The Radio Silence directing team, known for their successes on the recent Scream films, is set to direct. This team of filmmakers, made up of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin y Tyler Gillettstood out with the «witty and fun» horror film «Ready or Not» in 2019. The script for this new installment was written by David Coggeshall.
In the role of producer he returns Sean Danielwho produced the original films. He is joined by regular Radio Silence collaborators William Sherak, James Vanderbilt and Paul Neinstein, who will produce through their Project X Entertainment label.
Why didn’t Rachel Weisz participate in The Mummy 3?
The absence of actress Rachel Weisz to play Evie, the equally capable wife of adventurer Rick O’Connell, in «The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor» (2008) was a big surprise, as her role in the first two films had launched her career in Hollywood. The role of Evie was eventually taken by Maria Bello.
Over the years, various stories circulated about the British actress’s replacement. Weisz herself offered an explanation considered the most likely: the cprogramming conflicts.
In a 2008 interview, Weisz mentioned that what dissuaded her from the project was the production schedule. Filming «The Mummy 3″ would have required me to spend five months in China and begin filming immediately after it wrapped.»The Brothers Bloom». Weisz also claimed that he never even read the script.
Rachel Weisz did not return for The Mummy 3 because she felt the script «disfavored» the character of Evie. Photo: AP/Jordan Strauss.However, other theories gained notoriety. The director of the sequel, Rob Cohenoffered an «unflattering» explanation by suggesting that Weisz had refused to play a character with an adult son.
Evie and Rick’s son, Alex, was de-aged to twenty-one for the third installment. It was also reported that Weisz did not return because he felt the script «disfavored» the character of Evie. However, Universal denied these reports and Weisz chose neither to confirm nor deny them.
