EXCLUSIVE: Michael Johnston, star of Curry Barker’s breakout Focus Features horror film Obsession, is in early talks for a role in The Mummy, the next installment in the iconic action-adventure franchise from Universal Pictures, Deadline has confirmed.
No word yet on the role to be played by Johnston. But he’ll star opposite the returning Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz should the deal make. Reps for Universal Pictures had no comment on the casting.
Radio Silence is directing the next Mummy movie from a script by David Coggeshall (The Family Plan, Orphan: First Kill). Franchise veteran Sean Daniel is set to produce alongside William Sherak, James Vanderbilt and Paul Neinstein of Project X Entertainment, as well as Clayton Townsend, with Fraser and Hivemind’s Jason F. Brown exec producing.
The Mummy reunites Radio Silence and Project X following their recent work together rebooting the Scream franchise with films up to, but not including, the recent Scream 7, which Radio Silence did not direct, but which Project X did produce.
Previously, Fraser and Weisz starred in two Mummy movies together: 1999’s The Mummy and 2001’s The Mummy Returns, both based on one of Universal’s original movie monsters of the early 20th century, both directed by Stephen Sommers, and both grossing over $400 million worldwide. The 1999 film introduced Fraser as Rick O’Connell, a roguish American adventurer and former French Foreign Legion soldier, and Weisz as Evelyn Carnahan, an English Egyptologist working at the Cairo Museum of Antiquities. Over the course of the two films, the pair go from reluctant partners to a married couple with a young son, battling ancient curses from the likes of the resurrected Egyptian high priest Imhotep. Weisz’s Evelyn dies in the second film, after discovering she’s the reincarnation of an Egyptian princess, though she’s ultimately revived by Rick.
Contributing to Fraser’s rise as one of the biggest stars of the late ’90s and early 2000s, these particular Mummy films were so popular they were spun off into famed attractions for Universal parks in Hollywood, Orlando, FL and Singapore. The franchise continued with 2002’s spinoff The Scorpion King, starring Dwayne Johnson, which grossed over $180 million worldwide, as well as 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor ($403 million global), where Fraser returned without Weisz under the direction of Rob Cohen.
Universal most recently attempted to revitalize the IP with 2017’s The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise, which was intended to launch a new series of monster movies under the banner of the Dark Universe. While the film performed solidly at the box office — taking in $409 million worldwide — it was critically panned, leading Universal to scrap its broader Dark Universe plans.
Johnston’s talks for The Mummy were first reported by The InSneider.
