Brendan Fraser has been photographed on the set of the next installment in The Mummy franchise for the first time.
The 57-year-old action star was seen both in costume and between takes in Suffolk, eastern England, on Monday. He was filming the currently untitled sequel, which will become the fourth movie in the main Mummy series.
The project marks another major moment in Fraser’s so-called “Brennaissance,” the career resurgence that began early in the decade and culminated in his Best Actor Oscar win for his acclaimed role in The Whale.
Fraser’s return to the franchise comes 18 years after he appeared in the 2008 horror thriller The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
His original co-star, Rachel Weisz, was confirmed to be returning just days earlier. She had been spotted filming a separate scene in London.
Fraser appeared to be shooting a sequence in which his character takes the wheel of a rocket-shaped, high-speed vehicle.
Brendan Fraser has been seen on the set of the upcoming sequel in The Mummy franchise for the first time.
The 57-year-old actor was photographed in and out of costume in Suffolk, eastern England, while filming the untitled fourth movie in the main Mummy series.
Fraser appeared to be filming a sequence involving his character driving a rocket-like speed car.
The sequence called for Fraser’s character, treasure hunter Rick O’Connell, to climb behind the wheel of the experimental machine. His stunt double ultimately took over for the driving portion.
Fraser and his double wore rugged brown leather jackets, coordinating gloves and brown trousers for the scene.
After piloting the long, tubular vehicle, both men were seen with soot-like makeup covering their faces.
Filming took place at a former military base being used as the fictional Daubach Air Base. Its runway had been transformed into a test track where O’Connell races to set a new speed record.
The silver rocket car was decorated in blue and red, complete with stylized lightning bolts and the words “Great Britain Speed Shop.” American and British flags were painted on its tail fin.
Fraser’s stunt double appeared to handle the actual high-speed run. The vehicle shot past a cheering crowd, kicking up a dense plume of smoke as it sped along the track.
The new Mummy film will bypass the events of Fraser’s previous entry and instead take place decades after 2001’s The Mummy Returns, the last movie in the franchise to feature Weisz.
Weisz’s character, Evelyn Carnahan, was recast with Maria Bello for Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The upcoming sequel, however, reunites the original leading cast.
Fraser’s character, treasure hunter Rick O’Connell, was required to drive the experimental vehicle, but the actor’s stunt double (R) stepped in for the dangerous sequence.
Fraser and his stunt double wore rugged brown leather jackets, matching leather gloves and brown trousers.
Both men sported soot-like makeup after appearing to pilot the long, tubular vehicle; Fraser’s stunt double is pictured above.
Fraser’s stunt double appeared to do the actual driving of the high-speed car
The vehicle zoomed past a cheering crowd and left a trail of thick smoke in its wake
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John Hannah is also returning as Carnahan’s brother, while Arnold Vosloo – who played the title monster in the original films – will be back.
Kevin J. O’Connor, who played the mummy’s henchman, has also been cast in the upcoming sequel, even though his character met a gruesome fate at the conclusion of the original film.
Although the new film is set decades after the last Mummy film starring Weisz, few details have been revealed about the sequel’s plot.
The 54-year-old actress – who is married to former James Bond star Daniel Craig – was pictured filming a scene outside the British Museum, which is expected to be featured early on in the movie.
Stephen Sommers, who directed the first two modern Mummy films, is being replaced on the latest entry by the directing team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who were previously credited as Radio Silence.
The two broke out with the 2019 horror-comedy hit Ready or Not, as well as the fifth and sixth entries in the Scream franchise and a sequel to Ready or Not that was released earlier this year.
In May, the latest entry in Fraser’s return to prominence, Pressure, was released in theaters.
He starred in the World War II film as Dwight D. Eisenhower, who collaborated with the Scottish meteorologist James Stagg (played by Andrew Scott) as he planned out the monumental Operation Overlord, which began on June 5, 1944, with the storming of the beaches in Normandy.
Fraser’s double is pictured in the cockpit
The silvery rocket car, which was painted blue and red with stylized lightning bolts and the words ‘Great Britain Speed Shop,’ had a pair of American and British flags painted on its tail fin
The scene was shot at a former military base, now standing in for the fictional Daubach Air Base
The runway had been converted into a track for Fraser’s character to barrel down for speed trials as he tries to set a new record
The new film marks the return of Fraser’s costar Rachel Weisz, who last appeared in the franchise’s second film, The Mummy Returns (2001)
While Pressure disappointed at the US box office after its May release, it was only released in France and the UK earlier this month.
Last year, Fraser led the dramedy Rental Family, which also disappointed at the box office but charmed critics.
He played an American actor living in Tokyo who found unconventional work as part of a company that hires actors to stand in as fake family members to its clients.
Fraser’s return to prominence began in 2021, when Steven Soderbergh cast him as a heavy in his period crime thriller No Sudden Move, but it wasn’t until the following year that he cemented his return with his Oscar-winning role in The Whale.
He starred in the Darren Aronofsky–directed drama as a morbidly obese homebound English teacher who struggled to teach his classes remotely while also using his limited time to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.
Fraser’s upcoming Mummy sequel was originally scheduled to hit theaters in May 2028, but its release was later bumped up to October 15, 2027.