The Mummy 4 Arrives Early: Now Set for October 2027

I honestly thought Universal had locked The Mummy away in a cursed tomb years ago, but it turns out this franchise is a little harder to keep dead than its own villains. So, for those still holding out hope for one more adventure with Brendan Fraser's intrepid explorer, here's an update: The Mummy 4 is actually inching forward—and faster than we thought.

Release Date Gets a Shakeup

For context, it's been almost two decades since Brendan Fraser last tangled with the undead and dodged ancient booby traps. The last film in that trilogy, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, hit theaters all the way back in 2008—a real time capsule, complete with Yetis and questionable CGI. Despite the gap, thanks to Fraser's career comeback (thank you, The Whale) and a lot of studio wishful thinking, Universal is ramping up for another run.

Originally, we were supposed to wait until May 2028 for The Mummy 4. That's already a long time, but now the wait has actually gotten shorter: Universal just bumped the release up to October 15, 2027. (Let me just say, in Hollywood, release dates move more often than the artifacts in the British Museum, so don't carve it in stone yet.)

Why the Change?

So why shuffle the dates? It's partly because of how Universal is juggling a whole pile of big movies over the next few years. Miami Vice '85—that’s Joseph Kosinski directing, with both Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler starring—was supposed to drop in August 2027. Now, it's been handed The Mummy 4's old May 2028 spot, making room for the faster-moving, apparently more "ready to shoot" Mummy sequel.

What Actually Happened to The Mummy Franchise?

Let's be blunt: The Mummy movies have had a wild ride. Stephen Sommers launched the 1999 version as a romping, Indiana Jones-y action adventure—way more fun than the shuffling corpse horror of the original 1932 Universal Mummy. The Fraser trilogy made $1.4 billion worldwide, which is why Universal kept digging for a way to keep it going.

After Fraser's trilogy wrapped, Universal tried to reboot the whole monster crew with that infamous "Dark Universe" plan—kicked off, if you can call it that, by Tom Cruise battling sand, rats, and honestly, the script, in 2017's The Mummy. It mixed horror with Fraser-style action, but critics were brutal (Rotten Tomatoes has it at a harsh 15% positive) and, instead of a universe, Universal ended up with one big box office bandage: $410 million around the world, then immediate burial for the entire concept.

And if you missed it (easy to do), Lee Cronin's The Mummy landed just last month. This one took a proper horror route—totally standalone, not even pretending to connect to Fraser's saga. It’s made a promising start at the box office, but, again, critics are less enthusiastic, stuck around 45% positive.

Who’s (Supposed to Be) Doing What?

• Brendan Fraser is back, which is basically the selling point here.
• Rachel Weisz (at least for now) is expected to return, though there's zero confirmation both stars will actually be available when shooting starts.
• Directing duties have landed with Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin—the duo behind Scream (the new one) and Ready or Not. If anyone could thread the needle of horror and action with a wink, it'd be these two.

Don’t Get Too Excited—Yet

There’s still no actual start date for filming, and Universal hasn’t gone full press-release mode on casting or plot details. So, if you’re imagining Fraser already brushing desert sand off his hat, maybe hit pause. Still, it’s the closest we've gotten to legitimate Mummy 4 news in a very long time.

'The upcoming The Mummy 4 either has the power to bury the concept for good, or bring it back from the dead like its titular terror.'

And that pretty much says it all: This movie could finally drive a stake (or, you know, a canopic jar lid) into The Mummy franchise, or it could remind us why we ever liked undead adventure movies in the first place. Stay tuned—if this one actually starts rolling, you'll hear about it here.