The Mummy 4 directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have definitively confirmed that the 2008 instalment of the adventure film is not part of the canon.
Released in 1999, The Mummy starred Brendan Fraser as American explorer Rick O’Connell and Rachel Weisz as librarian Evelyn Carnahan.
They reunited for the 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns, but only Fraser came back for 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. That time, Evelyn’s role was recast with Maria Bello and the lead couple’s grown son Alex O’Connell was played by Luke Ford, taking over from Freddie Boath’s younger version from the 2001 film.
A fourth film was rumoured to be on the way for nearly two decades, with Bello saying that she had signed on to play Evelyn once more. However, it was cancelled by Universal Pictures in 2012.
Earlier this year, it was finally confirmed that the original stars were returning for a fourth film, with Weisz reclaiming the role of Evelyn after 25 years.
In a recent interview, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett confirmed the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor would not be considered canon to the forthcoming instalment.
“Well, Rachel is in this one,” Bettinelli-Olpin told Entertainment Weekly.
“That should answer the question for you,” Gillett added.
The directors did not provide any details about the film, except to say it had “ all of the heart and the character that you could hope for”.
“I don't think Brendan and Rachel are getting involved unless they love that script, and what they read, I think they really liked. And it's a good script,” Bettinelli-Olpin said.
“It's gonna be fun to make.”
The film, still to receive a title, is expected to hit cinemas on 19 May 2028. The script will be written by David Coggeshall of Orphan: First Kill and the Family Plan film series. Loosely based on a series of films from the 1930s-50s, The Mummy films of the 1990s and 2000s were box office smash hits.
News that the fourth film was finally in the works came in November, with Fraser implying in an interview he’d never been entirely satisfied with the third movie.
“The one I wanted to make was never made. The one I wanted to make is forthcoming. And I’ve been waiting 20 years for this call,” he told the Associated Press.
“Sometimes it was loud, sometimes it was a faint telegraph. Now? It’s time to give the fans what they want.”
The actor later appeared to shut down suggestions that The Mummy 4 was a done deal, telling Radio Times: “I'm hopeful to have good news soon because I know how popular the films were. Would I like to? Absolutely. I have always said I like the idea and I always will. Well, it's not up to me to pull that trigger!”
The studio previously revived the Mummy franchise in 2017, with a Tom Cruise-led movie that was intended to spark a new spin-off. However, it was a box-office flop and the plans were pulled.
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