For all the monsters native to Universal Pictures’ “Dark Universe,” none is harder to revive than the Mummy. Universal had a lucrative franchise on its hands with its first reboot of The Mummy, which featured Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as a whole generation’s bi awakening. Its first installment was, rightfully, a major hit, justifying two sequels, an animated spinoff, and, of course, an iconic roller coaster at Universal Studios. But each subsequent film offered diminishing returns, and the same — even more — could be said for the reboot that Universal attempted in 2017, a textbook case of wasted potential.
While other Universal monsters, like the Invisible Man and Frankenstein, find new leases on life again and again, the Mummy has been doomed by too many failed follow-ups. It’s frustrating to say, especially for fans of the 2000s series. Fortunately, Universal seems to agree. Rather than fully reboot the property for a third time, the studio is turning the clock back for a shocking revival of Fraser and Weisz’s Mummy.
