00:07There's a lot of excitement brewing around The Mummy 4 because it's bringing back a
00:12bunch of familiar faces, but one of the biggest questions on everyone's mind right now is
00:16how Benny is going to return, given that he was pretty clearly done for at the end of
00:21the first movie.
00:22Even though his death doesn't actually happen on screen, there's basically zero chance he
00:27could have survived that situation because he was sealed inside a chamber with no light,
00:32and he was surrounded by those flesh-eating scarabs that can devour a body in seconds.
00:37Benny always had a talent for getting himself out of trouble because he was such a slippery
00:42character, but his luck had definitely run out by the end of The Mummy, so it's going
00:46to take some serious creative gymnastics to explain his return.
00:50The actual plotline for The Mummy 4 is being kept under wraps, so how or why Benny is coming
00:56back is still a complete mystery, but there are a few approaches the story could take.
01:01One possibility is that we get a flashback involving another misadventure between Rick
01:06and Benny from before the first movie because they clearly had a history together and that
01:11would be a way to include the character without actually bringing him back from the dead.
01:15Another option is that he's brought back from the underworld to aid the heroes on a new adventure,
01:21which would fit the franchise's supernatural elements, because we've already seen resurrection
01:26and magic in these movies, so it wouldn't be too far-fetched.
01:30The sequel could also just retcon Benny's death entirely and reveal that he somehow managed
01:36to escape that chamber, although that would be a tough sell, because the scarabs were everywhere
01:40and there was no way out.
01:42But of all the available options, it feels like Benny becoming some kind of evil mummy
01:47or zombie is the most likely choice, because that would tie into the horror elements of
01:52the franchise and give him a new purpose as a villain or an obstacle for Rick and the gang
01:57to overcome.
01:58Regardless of which path The Mummy 4 chooses with Benny, it's just reassuring to have Rachel
02:03Weiss, Odin Fair and Brendan O'Connor coming back, because the third movie in particular
02:08suffered from the absence of familiar faces, and it felt like a completely different film
02:13without them.
02:14So it seems like the fourth entry really wants to win back the trust of fans who were disappointed
02:19by the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and bringing back the original cast is a huge step in the
02:24right direction.
02:26The directing duo Radio Silence, who are behind recent horror hits like Ready or Not and The
02:31Scream reboots, have already implied that The Mummy, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor won't be
02:36canon with the next outing, which is no loss because that movie was widely considered the
02:41weakest of the trilogy.
02:43Even though Dwayne Johnson has suggested he would be open to returning as the Scorpion King
02:48in the next movie too, there's no signees part of the project right now, so it's probably
02:53just wishful thinking on his part.
02:55But The Mummy 4 is making all the right moves so far, because bringing back the original cast
03:00and ignoring the third movie are both smart decisions that show the filmmakers understand
03:05what fans actually want.
03:07There is a broader question about the franchise's viability though, because while Tomb of the
03:12Dragon Emperor was a commercial success, it wasn't well received critically, to the point
03:17where a planned fourth outing that was supposed to feature Antonio Banderas as the villain
03:21ended up getting scrapped entirely.
03:23When the new movie finally arrives in 2027, it will be close to 20 years since the previous
03:30sequel, so that's a long gap, and the franchise will need to rely on more than just nostalgia
03:35to reel in younger viewers who might not have grown up with the original films.
03:40Those concerns aside, it will still be nice to see the franchise coming back after such a
03:45long break, because the original The Mummy was such a unique blending of action, adventure,
03:51horror, and comedy, and it had this swashbuckling energy that made it stand out from other blockbusters
03:57at the time.
03:58If the fourth movie can tap into the style and energy of Steven Summers' original, it
04:03might be something special, and it will just be a treat to see Brendan Fraser back in action
04:08hero mode, because he hasn't really done that kind of role in a long time.
04:13Fraser's career has had this incredible renaissance over the past few years, with his heartbreaking
04:18performance in The Whale earning him his first Best Actor win at the Oscars, and he was also
04:23absolutely hilarious in the DC live-action show Doom Patrol, so it feels like the perfect
04:29time for him to return to the franchise that made him a household name.
04:33Everything about The Mummy 4 feels like a homecoming, not just for Fraser, but for Weiss as well,
04:38because she's returning to the franchise after her role was recast with Maria Bello in 2008,
04:44and fans have been wanting to see her back as Evelyn O'Connell for years.
04:49Now one of the most exciting aspects of The Mummy 4 is the potential genre change, because
04:55Radio Silence is known for their horror work, and they could easily really lean into the
05:00scarier elements of the franchise.
05:02Dating back to the Universal Monsters days, Emotep was always a frightening foe, and the first
05:08two Fraser movies had plenty of genuinely tense and scary moments, so there's a solid foundation
05:14there for Radio Silence to build on.
05:16With their horror expertise, they could make The Mummy 4 the scariest entry in the franchise
05:22yet, but they can't go all doom and gloom, because the action-adventure elements are just
05:27as important to the franchise's identity.
05:29In the years since Fraser's last entry, there have been other attempts at The Mummy movies,
05:34like the 2017 Tom Cruise film that was supposed to kickstart the Dark Universe, but that was
05:40such a disappointment that the whole franchise got canned before it ever really got off the
05:44ground.
05:45Earlier this year, Lee Cronin's The Mummy did reasonably well, but it paled in comparison
05:51to the box office of Fraser's movies, and both of those newer films were incredibly dark
05:56and went all in on the horror, while not touching on the fun and adventure that made the older
06:01films so enjoyable.
06:02So, while a genre change to make The Mummy 4 more of a mix between horror and action-adventure
06:08is the perfect way to keep things fresh, Radio Silence can't cross the line to full-on horror,
06:14because that would mischaracterize the franchise and risk its potential future.
06:19Given that Fraser and Weiss both agree to sign on for The Mummy 4, I have faith in the script
06:25and the creative direction, because they wouldn't come back if they didn't believe in the project.
06:29Oded Fair, who played Ardeth Bey, also recently celebrated his return on Instagram by posting
06:36a video where his character's iconic face tattoos gradually appear on his face.
06:41And even though that's probably not an official look at his design for the sequel, it's still
06:46a fun tease that gets fans excited.
06:48The video features his natural, real-life appearance with a beard and shorter hair compared to Ardeth's
06:54traditional look, so there's a question as to whether he'll don his iconic goatee and
06:59longer hair from the original films, but that's a minor detail in the grand scheme of things.
07:04One point of curiosity now is how the rest of his character's design will look, because
07:10the story picks up at least 20 years after his previous appearance in The Mummy Returns,
07:15so there's room for some changes.
07:18Should filming indeed be gearing up to kick off for The Mummy 4, as Gillett confirmed earlier
07:23this year that prep would begin in May and filming would start in August, it seems likely
07:28that Universal could give the first looks at Fraser and Weiss' returns in the near future.
07:33And that wraps up today's video.
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