Brendan Fraser is finally ready to talk about ‘Hamunaptra 4’ for the first time, telling The Associated Press in a new interview that he’s been waiting 20 years to make the ‘Hamunaptra’ movie he’s always dreamed of making. Earlier this month, Variety confirmed that Universal is developing a fourth film, “Hamunaptra,” which Fraser will headline alongside directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillette.
“What I wanted to make was never made,” Fraser said of the series, which started in 1999 and continued with 2001’s “Hamunaptra Returns” and 2008’s “Hamunaptra: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.”
“The third one was a model…how do you tell an Associated Press reporter? NBC had the rights to broadcast the Olympics that year,” Frazier said. “So they put two films together and went to China. Working in Shanghai was a great experience. I’m proud of the third one because I think it’s a good independent film. We picked up things to do with another crew on deck. But what I wanted to make is almost done. And I’ve been waiting for this call for 20 years. Now? It’s time to give the fans what they want.”
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillette make up the filmmaking duo Radio Silence, best known for 2019’s Ready or Not and set to revive the Scream series at Paramount in 2022. Not only is Fraser set to return to the series in the next installment, but so is Rachel Weisz. The Oscar winner played opposite Fraser in the first two films before leaving The Dragon Emperor.
Fraser told Variety a few years ago, shortly before winning the Best Actor Oscar for The Whales, that he would be open to co-starring adventurer Rick O’Connell in a sequel to The Mummy, explaining, “I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but if somebody comes up with the right conceit, I’m open to it.”
It seems that his righteous arrogance has crumbled. When Universal rebooted Hamunaptra in 2017, Fraser was not invited back to the party. Instead, it was Tom Cruise who became the star of the series. The film was flooded with critics.
“It was tough making that movie,” Fraser told Variety. “The elements we had in store for The Mummy that you didn’t see in that movie were fun. That’s what was missing in[Tom Cruise’s]incarnation. It became too much of a straight horror movie. ‘Hamunaptra’ is supposed to be a thrill ride, but it’s not horrifying.”
Universal has not announced a release date for the next “Mummy” movie.
