Brendan Fraser And Rachel Weisz Had One Condition To Return For The Mummy 4

The collective calls from bisexuals of a certain age have been answered. Universal Pictures is finally bringing Rick O'Connell and Evelyn "Evie" Carnahan back to the big screen, with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz reprising their respective roles for "The Mummy 4." But after some two decades, what convinced Fraser and Weisz to sign on for the long-awaited sequel? The short answer: The script is, apparently, really good.

"Scream" (2022) and "Ready or Not" directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are helming this entry in the action/adventure/horror franchise, as they discussed with Entertainment Weekly while promoting their upcoming sequel, "Ready or Not 2: Here I Come." As Bettiinelli-Olpin explained to the outlet, neither Fraser or Weisz were going to get involved with "The Mummy 4" unless they loved its script. As he put it:

"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. It's gonna be fun to make."

The filmmaker added that the screenplay written by David Coggeshall ("Orphan: First Kill") has "all of the heart and the character that you could hope for," although he declined to reveal any specific plot details. It's worth remembering, however, that Weisz didn't reprise her role as Evie for the third "Mummy" movie, aka 2008's "The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" (with Maria Bello filling her spot). As such, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett were pretty blunt on whether or not that film is canon to what they're doing with their installment.

"Well, Rachel is in this one," Bettinelli-Olpin noted before Gillett added, "That should answer the question for you." On a more positive note, Gillett emphasized that the "Mummy 4" script is "just really, really beautiful and scary and sweeping, and it's awesome."

For people of a certain age, 1999's "The Mummy" was a life-changing movie. While it may have been a somewhat unassuming action-meets-horror blockbuster at the time of its original theatrical release, it went on to become one of the defining pieces of popcorn cinema for millennials. Ultimately, that film and its follow-ups grossed more than $1.4 billion at the global box office, including the 2002 spin-off "The Scorpion King."

Believe it or not, there are now five (count 'em, five!) "Scorpion King" movies. And even though 2001's "The Mummy Returns" was almost scrapped by director Stephen Sommers, it, too, became beloved amongst fans. (The less said about "Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" in general, the better.) These new directors very much understand what it is they're stepping into.

"I had a surgery not too long ago, and the nurse actually looked at my name on the chart and was like, 'Oh wait! You're doing the next 'Mummy' movie?' She was like, 'That movie, it was like an awakening for me,'" Tyler Gillett told EW. The director added that he and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin are grateful to be able to carry this franchise's legacy forward:

"Anytime a piece of entertainment can have an effect on your personal life or the way that you view the world, what an amazing thing. And, by the way, to do it the way the 'Mummy' movies did it with such kindness and fun and entertainment forward, that's an amazing lineage to get to follow in the footsteps of. It's not lost on us that we are inheriting now another truly wonderful franchise. We just are so humbled and so grateful to get to continue on."

"The Mummy 4" hits theaters on May 19, 2028.