There have been talks about The Mummy 4 happening with Brendan Fraser, and Rachel Weisz could return too even though she was recast in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. While The Mummy was rebooted in 2017 as a Tom Cruise-led action movie, the 1999 adventure movie has become a beloved classic, and the sequel, The Mummy Returns, is almost as good. Though the big appeal of the movie is the globetrotting and epic historical set pieces, it's the characters Rick O'Connell (Fraser) and Evelyn Carnahan (Weisz) who ended up stealing audiences' hearts, and they had so much chemistry together.
It's no secret that the threequel wasn't anywhere near as well received as its predecessors, and that's partly due to Weisz's absence. Unfortunately, Weisz didn't return for the third Mummy movie because she reportedly didn't want to spend time away from her newborn son. As a result, Evelyn wasn't written out of the movie but was instead recast. Maria Bello played Evelyn in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. However, if The Mummy 4 does happen, fans of the series would undeniably rather see Weisz back in the role instead of Bello, and there's now no reason why she can't.
Rachel Weisz's Mummy 3 Issues Are No Longer A Problem
Given that Weisz wanted to stay close to her newborn son in the mid-2000s, the actor could return for the fourquel. The Mummy 4 would likely be just as demanding when it comes to the shooting schedule and the locations, but Weisz no longer has the same issue when she turned down The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Her son is now an adult, and there's nothing stopping her from shooting another action-adventure movie.
With the talk about Fraser returning to the franchise for The Mummy 4, there's no longer anything holding Weisz back from reprising the role of Evelyn specifically. As it turns out, this could be crucial for the project's potential success. As the previous Mummy movie proved, Weisz's presence is crucial to the well-being of the franchise.
Why Rachel Weisz Must Return To The Mummy
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was a hit at the box office, making $403 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), that was mostly due to the goodwill the series earned with the previous two movies. However, the threequel is largely considered a disappointment, and that's partly due to the Rachel Weisz-shaped hole in the film. Maria Bello is a great actor with an incredible filmography that includes A History of Violence, Prisoners, and Lights Out, but she simply didn't have the same chemistry with Fraser that Weisz did. Fraser and Weisz lit up the screen together, and reuniting those characters would not only be terrific fan service, but Weisz starring role would massively help at the box office too.
Weisz is a more recognizable and bankable actor compared to Bello, as Weisz has starred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and she's an Academy Award-winning actress. The character of Evelyn was way more than just the main character's love interest in The Mummy series, as she's heavily involved in the action and just as imperative to the narrative as O'Connell, if not more so. Weisz must appear in The Mummy 4, as she's proved how great she is at action acting, especially with so many more blockbuster movies under her belt since starring in The Mummy Returns, she can deliver the necessary dramatic performances, and it'd be fan service perfection.
