Brendan Fraser is back as Rick O'Connell, with Rachel Weisz and John Hannah returning for The Mummy 4, which is set for a wide theatrical release on May 19, 2028. Universal Pictures marked the reunion with a photo dated Apr. 8, 2026, and wrote that Fraser was “getting back into character” while braving Revenge of The Mummy: The Ride at Universal Studios ahead of the role reprise.
The new film is being directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from a script by David Coggeshall, with principal photography expected to begin in August. Universal said Fraser “had a blast” on the ride as preparation for playing Rick again, a small promotional note that nonetheless confirms the studio is treating the project as a genuine return rather than a one-off nostalgia play.
The timing matters because this is not being framed as a sequel to the last film in the franchise so much as a direct follow-up to the original two movies, with the events of the third installment expected to be ignored. The story is also expected to jump forward in time and catch up with Rick and Evelyn later in life, placing the return of the trio nearly two decades after Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and more than 20 years after the first two films helped define the franchise.
That clean reset is also what gives the project its weight. Fraser's career revival after winning the Best Actor Oscar in 2023 for The Whale has already been described as the “Brenaissance,” and this film is being positioned squarely within that comeback. The studio is also stressing that The Mummy 4 is unrelated to Lee Cronin's The Mummy, drawing a bright line between the new legacy sequel and a separate title carrying the same name.
So the question is no longer whether Fraser would ever return to Rick O'Connell. He is. The sharper question is whether a franchise built on 1990s adventure can turn a cast reunion and a time jump into something that feels less like a reminder and more like a reason to watch when it opens in 2028.
