Brendan Fraser‘s forthcoming installment in Universal Pictures‘ popular The Mummy franchise is alive and well.
The studio announced Thursday that the new movie will be titled The Mummy: Book of the Dead. Radio Silence duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are set to direct the film from a script by David Coggeshall (The Family Plan). It hits theaters Oct. 15, 2027, exactly a year after the title announcement.
Fraser returns as Rick O’Connell alongside Rachel Weisz as Evie O’Connell. John Hannah, Michael Johnston, Numan Acar, Kevin J. O’Connor and Oded Fehr round out the cast.
The classic Universal monster property first sprang to life with Boris Karloff in the titular role of the 1932 feature The Mummy. After a number of offerings over the decades, Fraser and Weisz’s franchise kicked off with the Stephen Sommers-helmed 1999 version of the same name.
Producers include Sean Daniel, who has produced five previous titles in the franchise, alongside William Sherak, James Vanderbilt and Paul Neinstein for Project X Entertainment. Clayton Townsend also produces, while Fraser and Hivemind’s Jason F. Brown serve as executive producers.
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, who helmed 2022’s franchise-reviving Scream and follow-up Scream VI, most recently directed this year’s Ready or Not 2: Here I Come.
Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser in The Mummy.
Courtesy of Everett
The Mummy: Book of the Dead is a direct sequel to 1999’s The Mummy and 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns. The franchise also includes 2008’s poorly received The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which was followed by 2017’s Tom Cruise-led The Mummy reboot. The 1999 movie spawned the 2002 spinoff feature The Scorpion King, marking Dwayne Johnson’s first lead film role.
For the 25th anniversary of 1999’s The Mummy, director Sommers told The Hollywood Reporter that he continues to be pleased with the film’s lasting cultural impact. The franchise’s five theatrical features that began with the 1999 offering have surpassed $1.8 billion at the global box office. The 1999 movie centered on treasure hunter Rick heading out on an adventure with Evie and her brother, Jonathan (Hannah), where they accidentally awaken a mummy.
“It’s so funny how it just never went away,” said Sommers, who also helmed The Mummy Returns. “It’s always on TV somewhere. And I know, especially because the residual checks are great. I hate to say it, but somehow, it’s endeared itself to a lot of people.”
