Brendan Fraser Is Open to Reprising His “The Mummy” Character
Fraser has recently confirmed that he is open to reprising his role as Rick O’Connell in The Mummy movie franchise.
The 54-year-old actor has been having an internet moment, in what fans have called a “Brenaissance.” Fraser made a recent comeback to the screen with Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” and has been receiving widespread acclaim for his acting chops. But he has always had millions of adoring fans since his The Mummy fame.
In an interview with Pete Hammond on The Actor’s Side, where they talked about his career and returning to The Mummy, Fraser mentioned to the host that, as of date, he has no concrete details about the movie having a reboot but made himself very clear that he was not against reprising his role.
“Gosh, I don’t know any juicy details about it, but it’s kinda been an open-ended question for some time now. I’m not opposed to it. I don’t know an actor who doesn’t want a job. I don’t think I’ve been this famous and unsalaried at the same time in my professional life, so sign me up. We’ve all got to start somewhere,” said Fraser.
Fraser also spoke about his experience working with his co-stars in The Whale as well as his acting achievements, including Encino Man and George of the Jungle.
In 2017, Universal rebooted The Mummy with Tom Cruise at the helm and gave it a horror approach to kickstart their “Dark Universe” franchise. However, the movie tanked at the box office, and this new franchise was shelved.
In an interview with Variety, Fraser mentioned that the 2017 box office movie flopped so badly because it lacked the fun that the older The Mummy, released in 1999, the Mummy Returns last 2001, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008 had.
“It is hard to make that movie. The ingredient we had going for our Mummy, which I didn’t see in the new one, was fun.” He further added, “That was what was lacking in that incarnation. It was too much of a straight-ahead horror movie. The Mummy should be a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary.”
It was hoped that Oscar-nominee and action-man Tom could breathe new life into the much-loved The Mummy franchise, but it didn’t go the way planned and instead was criticized by many. As a result, Universal Studios lost about $60 to $100 million.
In contrast, the earlier The Mummy movie had an $80-million budget and made an impressive $416.4 million worldwide.
Fraser’s portrayal of Rick in The Mummy movies quickly made him a household name. He was already a Hollywood heartthrob, thanks to his good looks and chiseled body, but The Mummy movies also put a spotlight on his charm, wit, and sense of humor. As noted by the director of “The Mummy,” Stephen Sommer, “He could throw a punch and take a punch, and he had a great sense of humor.”
In the past decade, fans have seen little of Fraser. This is in part due to his health concerns but also because Fraser was blacklisted from Hollywood after he alleged that, in 2003, Philip Berk, the ex-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), groped him. While Berk denied these allegations, he did admit that he pinched the actor’s behind “as a joke.” Berk was fired from the HFPA in 2021.
Today, as Fraser makes his return to the big screen in a major role, he is being welcomed with a lot of love and enthusiasm from his fans. Apart from The Whale, which is already generating Oscar buzz, Fraser will also be seen in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
