Brendan Fraser would be open to returning to the Mummy series, especially if Michelle Yeoh is involved. Fraser rose to stardom as a leading man in 1999’s The Mummy, which he followed with a pair of sequels, including 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, which also starred Yeoh. With Fraser’s Oscar nomination for The Whale, it’s no surprise that there is a growing demand for another sequel. Fraser was enthusiastic about reuniting with fellow current Oscar-nominee Yeoh for another Mummy film during an interview with the podcast The Awardist (via Entertainment Weekly).
“Sounds like fun,” he said. “I’m always looking for a job. If anyone’s got the right conceit. I think I’ve never been as famous, and never been as unsalaried at the moment as I am right now. So spread the word.” In the past, Universal had a vision for The Mummy 4. In the film, Antonio Banderas would have played the villain alongside Fraser’s return to the franchise in The Mummy: Rise of the Aztec. It was dropped after Universal pivoted to their Dark Universe concept, which led to them rebooting The Mummy with Tom Cruise as the star. However, the Cruise-led Mummy was a flop, and the Dark Universe concept was dropped, freeing up the Mummy franchise once again.
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However, there could be unseen complications in bringing back the franchise. Following his Oscar nomination for The Whale, Fraser revealed that staring in The Mummy franchise was not good for his health in a recent interview with The Telegraph. During the movies, he recalled doing many of his own stunts to feel like he was earning his substantial paychecks. Due to this stunt work, he sustained many injuries and underwent several surgical procedures, including repairs to his vocal cords, a partial knee replacement, and a lumbar laminectomy. “I got a little banged up from years of doing my own stunts and needed a surgical fix on the spine and the hinges,” he said. “And that took a lot out of me. I knew I would get better, but it took a long time.
“[While filming The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,] every morning I was putting myself together like a gladiator with muscle tape and ice packs, strapping on this Transformer-like exoskeleton just to get through the scene.” Since Fraser is now older, suffering those types of injuries could be a major detriment to his involvement in a potential project. Aside from a possible return to The Mummy franchise, Fraser is working on a number of intriguing projects. Although Warner Bros Discovery has shelved his DC Universe-based Batgirl movie, the actor has another potential Oscar-worthy title, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, that will be released next year. In addition, he will appear in Doom Patrol season part 2, which comes out later this year, and Brothers, which is set to be released at an undetermined date with Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage. For now, audiences can still catch Fraser in The Whale, now playing in theaters.
