From joining Martin Scorsese’s Flowers of the Summer Moon project to leading Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale (which already has Oscar buzz), it’s clear Brendan Fraser is in the middle of a full-blown Hollywood comeback. Since early last year, fans have been very vocal in their support of the star’s return, which he had an adorable response to. It seems like every few weeks, we hear about the possibility of a sequel to one of the George of the Jungle star’s beloved movies. In a recent interview, Fraser had one question regarding returning to one of his most popular movie franchises, The Mummy, and I hope Universal is listening closely and taking notes.
Sitting down with GQ, Brendan Fraser broke down his most iconic characters. Of course, a large portion of the interview centered around his time playing Rick O’Connell in the beloved Mummy trilogy, which are frankly, some of the best action movies in my opinion. The actor waxes poetically for over five minutes about the joy he felt while making the series of films (especially the first two). Then, when asked whether he would be willing to return to the franchise, Fraser didn’t miss a beat in declaring, “absolutely.” The only question he had for the interviewer was whether or not they had a script! The actor said:
Absolutely! Got a script? [laughs] Yeah, that was great fun! Are you kidding?
It’s so great to see the true love Brendan Fraser has for the role of Rick O’Connell, as well as his willingness to jump right back into character nearly two decades after playing the part.
While the star mostly talked about why he loved making the movies, the one moment in the interview where he sounded somewhat regretful was his time on the third film, The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Part of the actor’s somewhat different feelings toward the third film is the fact it had a different spirit and that Rachel Weisz didn’t return in her part as Evelyn O’Connell. Actress Maria Bello took over the Evelyn character in the third outing. Fraser explained:
Okay, so first of all, look, it’s an action movie. Rob Cohen was directing this one. Steve Sommers was executive producing it. So it had a different spirit and different character. Sadly, Rachel didn’t come back. I mean, I say it selfishly. It was its own film…
At the time, it was reported Weisz didn’t return for the Dragon Emperor due to scheduling conflicts, but rumors circulated that it might have been due to her dissatisfaction with the script. This would have been a worthy concern for the actress because critics trampled the third film. So, let’s hope that if Universal decides to continue O’Connell’s stories in a fourth film (which they totally should), they can recapture some of that spirit and character the first two films had, and maybe the Oscar-winning actress would be willing to return with as much enthusiasm as Fraser has. After the painful experience of trying to reboot the franchise for Universal’s planned Dark Universe, which I think was mostly dead on arrival, with 2017’s The Mummy, perhaps a return to Fraser form is what the series needs.
A sequel to The Mummy isn’t the only possible return of a Fraser classic that fans could see on the horizon. According to Pauly Shore, a possible sequel to Encino Man, one of Brendan Fraser’s first big movies from the early ’90s, could be in the works. In the same interview, the actor discusses how Buster Keaton and Bill Irwin are his heroes, and they informed his comedic portrayal of the freshly defrosted caveman of Encino Man. I, for one, would love to know what it would look like for Fraser to tackle the part of Link after nearly three decades. Disney wasn’t afraid to dust off the Sanderson sisters after 30 years for Hocus Pocus 2; and Top Gun: Maverick flew into theaters over 30 years after the original. If fans are loud enough, Encino Man 2 could be a real possibility. We just have to get Sean Astin on board!
Only time will tell whether a return to the world of The Mummy is in Brendan Fraser’s future. Until then, we can enjoy him and whatever new projects he graces us with during his Brenaissance. The actor is set to appear next in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, hitting cinemas on December 9. And if you’re planning your next trip to the theater, make sure to check out our schedule of new movie releases.
