Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Oded Fehr and Kevin J. O’Connor are all back, and Universal Pictures has set the film for an October 15, 2027 release. That reunion is welcome, but the franchise needs more than a nostalgia roll call. It needs to return to the mythology that made the original films matter. Beni’s return, in particular, begs for an explanation. Did he escape Hamunaptra? Did he make a bargain with something while he was sealed inside?
Either answer could point to a threat scarier than Anubis. He was never the franchise’s active villain. In The Mummy Returns, he honours the Scorpion King’s bargain and unleashes the jackal army, but he does not personally lead its assault.
If reports that Arnold Vosloo is returning as Imhotep prove true, there is an obvious story sitting right there. This high priest did not simply die at the end of The Mummy Returns. He was pulled into the Duat, Egypt’s realm of the dead, after choosing to let go rather than accept Rick’s hand. That is a door a sequel can reopen without pretending the ending never happened.
The best reason to bring him back would be to challenge Apep. This great serpent of chaos, an enemy of Ra, is a force Egypt’s gods fear. In astronomical terms, he is the nightmare image of an eclipse: a force that consumes the light before the sun fights its way back into view. That cycle repeats, which makes Apep far more ominous than a one-and-done monster.
The Book of Ani (Amazon link), one of the best-known Egyptian funerary texts, opens onto that same world of perilous crossings, cosmic threats, and spells against darkness. No screenwriter needs to adapt it word for word to make compelling cinema, but its imagery is rich enough to support a new adventure. No, I am not expecting a literal retelling of this Egyptian tale. The original movie was about Imhotep’s love for Anck-su-namun and the lengths he would go to bring her back. Returning to that emotional core is what matters.
The second film showed what could happen after Anck-su-namun returned to the living world, with Patricia Velásquez being deliciously evil in the role. And we all know how well that worked out. And there’s no need to talk about The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. As for that Peru tease, perhaps this is one branch of the franchise best left unexplored.
Ardeth Bay’s return also makes a return to Egypt feel more likely. He travelled to London to save the O’Connells in The Mummy Returns, so the Medjai could have a wider reach by now. Still, I suspect Ardeth has enough fight left in him to be an ally again, rather than merely turning up as an elder statesman of the order.
As for the newcomers, some fan speculation says Michael Johnston might be Alex O’Connell, which makes sense if the film wants to bring the family line forward. Numan Acar’s role remains a mystery, though a new Medjai figure, whether ally or rival, would fit naturally beside Ardeth Bay. Nothing has been confirmed, but both possibilities point back to the kind of world this sequel should inhabit.
Let them face Apep. Maybe Acar is playing him, though I’m putting my money on an emissary rather than another human villain. Anubis has loomed in the background of both films, even though he was never their true villain. Perhaps Apep has found a mortal mouthpiece, a fresh face for the franchise, and the adventure can roll on in a different way.
The real question is not whether these older performers can still handle the action. That is what stunt performers are for. It is whether The Mummy 4 understands that this is not a story about rolling back time or retiring beloved heroes. It is about holding on to what makes love immortal, rather than dwelling on the terror of separation. That has always been at the heart of the best cinematic versions of The Mummy. Without that emotional core, this franchise would not be what it is. And Imhotep’s return only works if it gives his Romeo and Juliet story new meaning, rather than treating his demise as another thing that no longer matters.
The Mummy 4 Trailer
(not yet released)