Three years after the runaway success of Evil Dead Rise, Lee Cronin is back with his next feature, a bold reimagining of The Mummy. Details have been kept tightly under wraps, but we do know that the Hole in the Ground director is set to treat fans to an “audacious and twisted” retelling of the classic Universal Monsters story.
It has been nine years since a version of The Mummy hit the big screen, following the failed 2017 adaptation of the film starring Tom Cruise, which essentially cut the planned Dark Universe of films down dead. As we get ready to be wrapped up in Cronin’s latest film, here’s everything you need to know about The Mummy before it is resurrected.
Release date
The Mummy is set to be released in cinemas on April 17 after first being announced back in December 2024. It comes just a week after Ready or Not 2: Here I Come hits cinema screens, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 2019 cat-and-mouse thriller.
Plot
It’s safe to say it sounds like The Mummy is miles away from the 1932 Universal original, as well as the subsequent series and 2000s remakes that followed. Cronin seems to have followed in the footsteps of Pet Sematary, telling the story of one family’s heartache over the loss of their child – only for her to mysteriously return.
A synopsis reads: “The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace—eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare.”
Speaking to IGN, Cronin opened up about the unusual influences behind his film, admitting that it is “a very different kind of Mummy movie.” He said: “It's an insane mashup to suggest, but [this film is] almost one part Poltergeist and one part Seven, but put through my lens and the way that I like to entertain people.”
He added: “I'm an Amblin kid, a child of Spielberg, no doubt,” says the director. “I was massively influenced by that. So when I talk about Poltergeist, what I mean is the domestic circumstances and the warmth of the family. And when I talk about Seven, what I mean is the dark, investigative angle and the secrets that exist behind it. And they are two aspects within two different tram lines, but two places that I love and I'm trying to bring them together in center court.”
Is it related to The Mummy 4?
Yes, we were confused as well. There’s not just one adaptation of The Mummy in the works; there is also a fourth in the franchise originally starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and The Mummy 4 are not related – they’re just loosely (very loosely) inspired by the same source material.
The as-yet untitled sequel will be directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillettli, better known as Radio Silence, and while the cast has not yet been confirmed, Fraser recently said that he would be open to returning to the role of Rick O’Connell. He told Radio Times: “My lips are sealed! I'm hopeful to have good news soon because I know how popular the films were. People say, ‘I grew up watching that movie and now I've got kids…' Let's all keep our fingers crossed and light a candle. Would I like to? Absolutely. I've always said I like the idea, and I always will. It's just… Well, it's not up to me to pull that trigger!”
Cast
Midsommar icon Jack Reynor leads the cast of The Mummy alongside Laia Costa, best known for her roles in Un Amor, Victoria, and Lullaby. They are joined by Moon Knight’s May Calamawy, 1923’s Natalie Grace, and Imaginary’s Veronica Falcón.
The Mummy Trailer
While the first teaser trailer was only a minute long, it gave us a glimpse of what Cronin has cooked up for us in The Mummy, and it's giving serious Lake Mungo and Bring Her Back vibes. The first look begins with an ominous string score and the lid being lifted from a sarcophagus, revealing a wrapped body inside.
A camera shutter will make you jump out of your skin, seemingly capturing images of the gnarled body inside being unwrapped, as well as shots of a scorpion, parchment, and a woman in a pool of blood. Why? We’re not actually sure, but between the shots of brutal violence and gore, we are asked one chilling question: What happened to Katie?
The new Mummy trailer takes us deeper into Cronin's creation. Coming in at nearly two and a half minutes, it gives us a much better idea of what's in store. The thumbnail is horrifying in its own right.
Production
Whispers of The Mummy began in 2024 when New Line Cinema dated an untitled film written and directed by Lee Cronin to be released on April 17, 2026. That same December, the film was revealed to be The Mummy, and it was announced that Blumhouse Productions, Atomic Monster, and Cronin’s production company Wicked/Good would be attached with New Line Cinema producing.
Cast information began dropping in 2025, but details of the plot have been kept under wraps – even with a trailer and poster, we still have little to no idea exactly what will happen. Principal photography began in Ireland and Spain in March of the same year, wrapping in June.
Cronin has shared details of his process of putting The Mummy together, telling IGN he spoke to Egyptian horror fans when making key decisions: “One of the things that I'm really proud of with this movie, and with the people involved with the film as well, is that we have a really authentic Egyptian cast and lots of Arabic language. … We've got May Elghety and May Calamawy in the movie, and they play really pivotal roles and have some incredible scenes together, which is some of my favorite stuff. [It took] a lot of learning to direct in a language you don't speak, and then getting into post-production in that language and really understanding – it's an education! That was a really challenging but exciting thing to take on. But actually, from Ireland through Mexico and all the way back around to Egypt, it's a big cultural melting pot, the movie, but the Egyptian side and that authenticity really mattered to me.”
