Will we see a rebirth of the Mummy from the cinema? Stephen Sommers shares his thoughts on the future of the saga
In the late nineties, a film managed to capture the imagination of adventure movie fans with its unique blend of horror, action and comedy. In the year Released in 1999, The Mummy not only grossed more than $400 million, but also solidified the franchise’s launch, giving us three hits before rebooting. Now, two decades later, director Stephen Sommers is considering the possibility of adding a fourth film to his popular project.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Somers shared his thoughts on the future of the saga. Despite the emotional connection with the first series, the director has doubts about the feasibility of a new installment. “I have no news [sobre una cuarta película de La Momia]. The people I worked with at Universal are no longer there, and I don’t have anything to do with the new faces at the company,” Sommers explained, hinting that there is no current move to revive the saga at the helm.
However, the director does not completely close the door on the possibility of working with the first footage. “If something really special comes along, I’d love to get all those actors together again,” he says, indicating he’s willing to embark on another adventure as long as the project is worth it.
The silence after the third act and the shadow of the reboot
In the year The first film of the series, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, released in 2008, opened the possibility of continuing the saga. However, after several years of talk and silence, plans for a fourth film fell through. Instead, Universal has chosen to reboot the franchise with Tom Cruise, which took shape in 2012 and reached a re-release in 2017.
Although this latest push could boost the box office numbers to more than $400 million compared to its predecessors, Universal’s plans to establish a new Mummy cinematic universe in 2019 were ultimately shelved.
Nostalgia is an incentive for rebirth
Adventure cinema has seen many of its best-loved franchises resurrected or reinvented to appeal to both generational and nostalgic fans. In this context, the opportunity to revive Moomin with a new and exciting approach could find fertile ground. The question is whether Universal will pursue this opportunity and whether Somers and his original team will be a part of this new chapter.
In the meantime, fans of the original saga can only wait and see if it brings back their favorite characters, or like so many classics, The Mummy will be buried in the cinematic past.
Since the inception of the Mummy franchise
The Mummy franchise began in 1999, creating a global phenomenon with its successful combination of genres including horror, adventure and comedy. The first film, directed by Steven Sommers, was a phenomenal success, producing a phenomenal gross that inspired a sequel. In the year In 2001, The Mummy Returns introduced new characters and took action and special effects to a whole new level into Egyptian mythology.
Although it received mixed reviews, it was successful at the box office. The third installment, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), shifted the settings to China, but failed to capture the charm of its predecessors, receiving harsh reviews and low box office receipts. In the year An attempt to reboot the series with Tom Cruise in 2017 also faced similar challenges, though it managed to perform well at the box office.