Brendan Fraser is breaking two decades of silence on a very personal topic: The Mummy film franchise.
The Oscar-winning star of The Whale, Brendan Fraser, 56, spoke with the AP about making the fourth installment in the film franchise.
The Indianapolis, Indiana-born actor spoke about delving back into the popular after Variety reported November 4 that Universal is working on a new film with Fraser as the star and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directing.
The veteran actor, Brenda Fraser whose catalog also includes 1990s films such as School Ties, Encino Man and George of the Jungle said of The Mummy films, ‘The one I wanted to make was never made
The actor, who also starred in 2001’s The Mummy Returns and 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, gave his candid opinion on the third installment in the franchise.
‘The third one was a model of … how can I say this to the AP reporter?,’ Fraser said. ‘NBC had the rights to broadcast the Olympics that year, so they put two together and we went to China.’
Brenda Fraser said that ‘working in Shanghai’ made for ‘an incredible experience.’
Said the actor: ‘I’m proud of the third one because I think it’s a good standalone movie. We picked up and did what we do with a different crew on deck and gave it our best shot.
‘But the one I wanted to make is forthcoming. And I’ve been waiting 20 years for this call. Sometimes it was loud, sometimes it was a faint telegraph.’
Fraser said he believed it was ‘time to give the fans what they want’ with the forthcoming film.
Also returning for the fourth film is Oscar-winning The Constant Gardener star Rachel Weisz, 55, according to Variety.
Weisz was in the first two films playing the character Evelyn, prior to skipping on the third.
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have been busy in recent years with their 2019 motion picture Ready or Not, in addition to the 2022 Scream reboot for Paramount.
Fraser previously said that he wasn’t clear how script writers would be able to put together a cohesive storyline to bring his character Rick O’Connell into the fold.
‘I don’t know how it would work,’ Fraser told Variety in October 2022 interview. ‘But I’d be open to it, if someone came up with the right conceit.’
Asked by the AP how he’s maintained a ‘sincere and sweet’ demeanor throughout decades in show business, Fraser said, ‘I get angry – sure, I get frustrated. I see the shortcuts and loopholes that get taken.
‘Sometimes you just feel like the proverbial bully has the palm of his hand on your forehead and you’re throwing haymakers that don’t land until you’re exhausted and you’re being laughed at.’
He noted, ‘Who’s going to stand up for that person or issue? I don’t know if it’s me, but I know if I don’t contribute to that, maybe that’s a way I can help.’