# The Mummy (franchise)
**The Mummy** is an American film franchise from [Universal Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-pictures) built around the reanimated mummy of an ancient Egyptian priest, beginning with the 1932 film *The Mummy* starring [Boris Karloff](https://www.edgepedia.org/boris-karloff) and running, through several distinct series and reboots, to a new installment announced for 2027.[1](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/revisiting-universal-s-mummy-franchises/) • [2](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/the-mummy-4-title-book-of-the-dead-brendan-fraser-rachel-weisz-41358)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | *The Mummy* (1932), directed by Karl Freund, starring Boris Karloff as the priest Imhotep; an original screenplay rather than an adaptation of existing literature[3](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/ucla-universal-catalog.pdf) |
| Classic series | Five direct Universal follow-ups from 1940 to 1955, centered on a different mummy, Kharis[4](https://sapereaude.chapman.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/The-Curse-of-Postcolonial-Misrepresentation-in-Universals-The-Mummy-Franchise.pdf) |
| Hammer cycle | Four British Mummy films from Hammer Films between 1959 and 1971, including *The Mummy* (1959) with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee[5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1436561/the-mummy-sundays-in-october) |
| 1999 reboot | Made for $80 million, grossed over $400 million worldwide; highest domestic earner of the series is its sequel, *The Mummy Returns* (2001), at $202,019,785[6](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/stephen-sommers-recalls-origin-of-his-mummy-films) • [7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr3058142981/) |
| Dark Universe failure | The 2017 Tom Cruise reboot was a critical and commercial disaster that ended Universal's interconnected Dark Universe plans[2](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/the-mummy-4-title-book-of-the-dead-brendan-fraser-rachel-weisz-41358) |
| Next installment | *The Mummy: The Book of the Dead*, with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz returning, scheduled for October 15, 2027[2](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/the-mummy-4-title-book-of-the-dead-brendan-fraser-rachel-weisz-41358) |
## The Universal original series (1932-1955)
Universal launched the franchise in 1932, after the success of *Dracula* and *Frankenstein* and amid public fascination with Egypt following the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. The film featured an original story written for the screen: the priest Imhotep, mummified alive, is reanimated in modern times by an ancient spell.[3](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/ucla-universal-catalog.pdf) Directed by Karl Freund and scripted by John L. Balderston, it reused cast members and music from *Dracula*; its most famous image is Karloff staring directly at the camera.[1](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/revisiting-universal-s-mummy-franchises/)
The 1940 follow-up, *The Mummy's Hand*, was closer to a soft reboot than a true sequel: the mummy's name changed from Imhotep to Kharis and his beloved from Princess Ankh-es-en-Amon to Princess Ananka, with mummification footage lifted directly from the 1932 film. Kharis carried the series through four more films, *The Mummy's Tomb* (1942), *The Mummy's Ghost* (1944), *The Mummy's Curse* (1944, released after *The Mummy's Ghost* in production order), and the spoof *Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy* (1955).[1](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/revisiting-universal-s-mummy-franchises/) • [8](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/the-mummy-complete-legacy-collection)
## The Hammer films (1959-1971)
In 1959 Hammer Films achieved critical and commercial success with *The Mummy*, starring [Peter Cushing](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-cushing) and [Christopher Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-lee). Hammer borrowed the title from Universal's 1932 film but took its plot and characters from the later Universal pictures *The Mummy's Hand*, *The Mummy's Tomb*, and *The Mummy's Ghost*. Hammer followed it with *The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb* (1964), *The Mummy's Shroud* (1967), and *Blood from the Mummy's Tomb* (1971).[5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1436561/the-mummy-sundays-in-october) • [9](https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/dmu-museum/exhibition.aspx?entryId=8a4a9475-4313-48b9-ab8e-b02e15047507)
## The Sommers era (1999-2008)
A new Mummy film had been in development at Universal for close to a decade before [Stephen Sommers](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-sommers) came aboard. Early versions, including one by writer-director [John Sayles](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-sayles), were set in Los Angeles; Universal initially wanted to hold the budget to $12 million. Once Sommers pitched a larger adventure, the film was made for $80 million.[6](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/stephen-sommers-recalls-origin-of-his-mummy-films)
Released in early May 1999, Sommers's *The Mummy* reimagined the 1932 story as an [Indiana Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/indiana-jones)-style action-adventure, with [Brendan Fraser](https://www.edgepedia.org/brendan-fraser) as the adventurer Rick O'Connell and [Rachel Weisz](https://www.edgepedia.org/rachel-weisz) as Evelyn Carnahan. It grossed over $400 million worldwide and spawned sequels, merchandise, a television spinoff, and a theme park ride.[6](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/stephen-sommers-recalls-origin-of-his-mummy-films) Domestically it earned $155,516,138 against $202,019,785 for *The Mummy Returns* (2001), $102,491,776 for *The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor* (2008), and $91,047,077 for the Dwayne Johnson spinoff *The Scorpion King* (2002).[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr3058142981/) Weisz did not appear in the third film, in which Fraser starred.[2](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/the-mummy-4-title-book-of-the-dead-brendan-fraser-rachel-weisz-41358)
## The Dark Universe (2017)
Universal's 2017 reboot, starring [Tom Cruise](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-cruise), was designed to launch the Dark Universe, an interconnected franchise of Universal Monsters films in the vein of the Avengers. [Russell Crowe](https://www.edgepedia.org/russell-crowe)'s Dr. Jekyll appeared as the connective figure, and the film's marketing promised a "new world of gods and monsters." The film featured a female mummy, played by [Sofia Boutella](https://www.edgepedia.org/sofia-boutella), set in the present day, with no connection to the Fraser films.[10](https://time.com/4790471/the-mummy-dark-universe-monster-franchise/)
The film was a critical and commercial disaster that effectively ended the studio's Dark Universe ambitions.[2](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/the-mummy-4-title-book-of-the-dead-brendan-fraser-rachel-weisz-41358) A scholarly analysis of the campaign argued that the fundamental problem was the presumption that the film would establish a franchise regardless of its reception, and that critics observed the monster played a secondary role to Cruise, making the picture read as a star vehicle rather than the foundation of a shared universe.[11](https://researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk/en/publications/the-story-trailers-tell-an-archaeology-of-promotional-campaigns-f/) • [12](https://rest.mars-prod.its.unimelb.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/d98ee913-0212-56f1-9156-d8d73ec677ed/content)
## Recent films and the 2027 sequel
In April 2026, *Lee Cronin's The Mummy* reached theaters: an R-rated, 134-minute horror film from the *Evil Dead Rise* director that grafts the monster onto a demon-possession story. Its mummy is a teenage girl controlled by an ancient demon, and the film opens with a Cairo family's abducted daughter resurfacing eight years later in a 3,000-year-old sarcophagus.[13](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/lee-cronins-the-mummy-movie-review-2026) • [14](https://apnews.com/article/4aceb9888cae38fb7d93291b99b839a7) It debuted in third place at the North American box office behind *The Super Mario Galaxy Movie* and *Project Hail Mary*, and received mixed reviews that praised its gore and visual flair while finding the story overlong and familiar.[15](https://apnews.com/article/965c2fb1e54a7789362077c1733ff8d3) • [16](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/lee-cronins-the-mummy-first-reviews/)
Universal has also revived the original continuity. In February 2026 the studio announced that Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz would return as Rick and Evelyn O'Connell in a fourth installment directed by [Matt Bettinelli-Olpin](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-bettinelli-olpin) and Tyler Gillett, the filmmaking duo known as Radio Silence, from a screenplay by David Coggeshall.[17](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/new-mummy-movie-release-date-cast-brendan-fraser-rachel-weisz/) The film was initially dated for May 19, 2028, then moved up to October 15, 2027, and titled *The Mummy: The Book of the Dead*. According to [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter), because Weisz was not in the third film, the new movie disregards the events of *The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor* and acts as a sequel to *The Mummy Returns*. The returning cast includes John Hannah, Kevin J. O'Connor, and [Oded Fehr](https://www.edgepedia.org/oded-fehr), and franchise veteran Sean Daniel produces.[2](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/the-mummy-4-title-book-of-the-dead-brendan-fraser-rachel-weisz-41358) • [18](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/adventure-movies/the-mummy-4-release-date-cast-plot/)
## References
1. [Revisiting Universal's Mummy franchises, Den of Geek](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/revisiting-universal-s-mummy-franchises/)
2. ['The Mummy 4' With Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz Officially Titled 'The Mummy: The Book of the Dead', Variety](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/the-mummy-4-title-book-of-the-dead-brendan-fraser-rachel-weisz-41358)
3. [THE MUMMY | 1932, UCLA Film & Television Archive Universal catalog](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/ucla-universal-catalog.pdf)
4. [The Curse of Postcolonial (Mis)representation in Universal's The Mummy Franchise, Sapere Aude (Chapman University)](https://sapereaude.chapman.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/The-Curse-of-Postcolonial-Misrepresentation-in-Universals-The-Mummy-Franchise.pdf)
5. [The Mummy - Sundays in October, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1436561/the-mummy-sundays-in-october)
6. ['The Mummy' director Stephen Sommers recalls origin of his hit 'Mummy' films, SYFY WIRE](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/stephen-sommers-recalls-origin-of-his-mummy-films)
7. [Franchise: The Mummy, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr3058142981/)
8. [The Mummy: Complete Legacy Collection, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/the-mummy-complete-legacy-collection)
9. [Monsters of Hammer: A Screen Bestiary, DMU Museum](https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/dmu-museum/exhibition.aspx?entryId=8a4a9475-4313-48b9-ab8e-b02e15047507)
10. [How The Mummy Sets Up a Massive New Monster Movie Franchise, Time](https://time.com/4790471/the-mummy-dark-universe-monster-franchise/)
11. [The story trailers tell: an archaeology of promotional campaigns for The Mummy (2017-1932), University of Hertfordshire](https://researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk/en/publications/the-story-trailers-tell-an-archaeology-of-promotional-campaigns-f/)
12. [Blockbuster franchising and storyworld development, University of Melbourne repository](https://rest.mars-prod.its.unimelb.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/d98ee913-0212-56f1-9156-d8d73ec677ed/content)
13. [Lee Cronin's The Mummy movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/lee-cronins-the-mummy-movie-review-2026)
14. [Movie Review: 'Lee Cronin's The Mummy', AP News](https://apnews.com/article/4aceb9888cae38fb7d93291b99b839a7)
15. ['Lee Cronin's The Mummy' is no match for 'Super Mario' or 'Hail Mary' at the box office, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/965c2fb1e54a7789362077c1733ff8d3)
16. [Lee Cronin's The Mummy First Reviews, Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/lee-cronins-the-mummy-first-reviews/)
17. ['Mummy' Returns: Universal Sets Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz-Led Reboot for May 2028, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/new-mummy-movie-release-date-cast-brendan-fraser-rachel-weisz/)
18. [The Mummy: The Book of the Dead cast, plot, release date, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/adventure-movies/the-mummy-4-release-date-cast-plot/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Film characters and fictional worlds › Horror film characters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license