Although Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy movies effortlessly juggled these elements, 2017’s reboot of The Mummy franchise was a shambling, lumbering mess not unlike the title monster.

Famously, 2017’s The Mummy killed Universal’s proposed “Dark Universe” before it could begin in earnest. This series of horror movies was set to be a big-budget re-imagining of the classic Universal movie monsters, a series of action horror blockbusters that would do for Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Mummy what Marvel had done for Black Widow, Iron Man, and Thor. 2020’s The Invisible Man revived interest in the Dark Universe with its more modest, far more horror-centric story, but 2025’s flawed Wolf Man proved that the Dark Universe still has not won over critics.

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Fortunately, it sounds like The Mummy franchise is in the right hands, whatever about the rest of the monsters occupying Universal’s vault. Brendan Fraser return in The Mummy 4, Cronin’s plan sounds even more exciting.

As 2017’s The Mummy was rated PG-13 and mostly focused on action, it was devoid of substantial scares and intense horror.

In late 2024, Cronin promised The Hollywood Reporter “I’m digging deep into the earth to raise something very ancient and very frightening,” saying that his The Mummy movie would be “Unlike any Mummy movie you ever laid eyeballs on before.” This is a bold claim, but it is also a surprisingly plausible one. As 2017’s The Mummy was rated PG-13 and mostly focused on action, it was devoid of substantial scares and intense horror. Similarly, although there are plenty of gross moments and memorable villains in Fraser’s earlier The Mummy movies, they are rarely genuinely scary.

Cronin’s horror-forward take on The Mummy could be the first truly terrifying screen incarnation of the iconic character after both 2017’s reboot and the earlier trilogy took different approaches to the iconic villain. For all of Wolf Man’s flaws, the 2025 movie followed in the footsteps of The Invisible Man by updating a classic horror movie into a more modern, relatable story. Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise did the same for the Evil Dead franchise, taking it out of the woods and locating its horrors in a busy apartment complex.

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The smartest change Cronin made to the Evil Dead franchise blueprint was setting the reboot’s story of gory demonic possession not among a group of college students, but among a small family. This made the action far more emotionally intense, as every death carried more weight and every possession was more poignant, as well as scarier. Evil Dead Rise’s Deadites were scarier than ever because they preyed on a family rather than interchangeable collegiate victims, and Cronin’s The Mummy reboot seems set to repeat this clever approach.

Irish actor Jack Reynor will star in Cronin’s take on The Mummy, which is set to begin shooting in Ireland soon. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Reynor’s character will be a “Husband and father who runs afoul of supernaturally sinister forces.” This synopsis alone proves that Cronin’s movie is making one ingenious change that was overdue for the franchise. Cruise’s protagonist from The Mummy’s 2017 reboot is an Army Sergeant, while Fraser’s The Mummy antihero is a combat veteran and treasure hunter. Reynor’s lead character, in contrast, is primarily defined as a family man.

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Already, Cronin’s movie has inherently higher stakes than Cruise’s reboot. No one really believed that action-horror was going to kill off its biggest A-list star, which sapped the story of any stakes. In contrast, although Reynor’s performance in Midsommar is underrated and the star has proven himself in numerous roles over the years, his comparatively low profile works in Cronin’s favor.

Unlike Tom Cruise’s earlier reboot, this take on The Mummy can truly scare viewers.

Cronin’s The Mummy may well kill off its hero, or his family, and in doing so the reboot could become the first truly pitiless, genuinely dark installment in the series. Both the knockabout fun of the Fraser trilogy and the incoherent noise of Cruise’s misfire are devoid of any real threat, whereas Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise is a legitimately dark, nasty, and unpredictable bit of horror film making. As such, unlike Tom Cruise’s earlier reboot, this take on The Mummy can truly scare viewers.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter