Brendan Fraser, 53, was asked if he’d ever join a revival of The Mummy franchise during an interview with Variety on October 12. “I don’t know how it would work,” Brendan told the outlet. “But I’d be open to it if someone came up with the right conceit.” Brendan memorably played Rick O’Connell in Stephen Sommers‘ The Mummy trilogy, which spanned from 1999 to 2008 and was hugely popular with fans.
In 2017, The Mummy franchise was rebooted with Tom Cruise, 60, replacing Brendan as the leading man. The film, directed by Alex Kurtzman, completely flopped at the box office and was critically panned. “It is hard to make that movie,” Brendan told Variety, when discussing Tom’s failed The Mummy movie.
“The ingredient that we had going for our Mummy, which I didn’t see in that film, was fun. That was what was lacking in that incarnation,” he added. “It was too much of a straight-ahead horror movie. ‘The Mummy’ should be a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary.”
The Mummy director Stephen Sommers also spoke to Variety about why he cast Brendan in the trilogy. “He could throw a punch and take a punch and he had a great sense of humor,” Stephen explained. “You really like the guy. He never comes across as cocky or arrogant.” Stephen also said that Brendan “was game” to do any stunts, even when he injured his knee in the process.
Brendan recently reunited with his former The Mummy co-star Michelle Yeoh at an award ceremony at the Toronto International Film Festival. The two actors took a picture together 14 years after Michelle joined the franchise for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, where she played immortal sorceress Zi Yuan. Brendan and Michelle were recognized at TIFF for their respective roles in the films Everything Everywhere All At Once and The Whale.
In The Wale, Brendan plays an overweight teacher who’s struggling with obesity and his estranged relationship with his daughter, played by Stranger Things star Sadie Sink. Brendan is generating Oscar buzz for his performance, and when the movie premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, he received a 6-minute standing ovation from the audience.