While Obsession‘s breakout star Inde Navarrette has met with Michael Mann and X-Men director Jake Schreier for her upcoming follow-ups, Michael Johnston, who played the lovelorn Bear in that movie, may once again be running for his life. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Johnston is in early talks to join the upcoming sequel to The Mummy, which will see the return of Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as Rick and Evie O’Connell. According to THR, Universal has not commented on the matter, but Obsession came from the studio’s specialty label, Focus Features, so this casting would keep Johnston in the company.
Obsession became a monster low-budget hit, becoming the highest-grossing movie with a price tag that came in under a million dollars. Navarrette, Johnston and writer/director Curry Barker have become overnight sensations off the success of that film.
Ready or Not 2 directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are set to helm The Mummy 4, with production slated to start this fall in London and Morocco. It’s still too early to reveal any real details on The Mummy 4, but the pair have teased that the sequel will be “really, really beautiful and scary and sweeping, and it’s awesome.” Bettinelli-Olpin added that he doesn’t think “Brendan and Rachel are getting involved unless they love that script, and what they read, I think they really liked. And it’s a good script. It’s gonna be fun to make.“
It was recently reported that the core three protagonists from the originals will be completed as John Hannah will return with both Fraser and Weisz. The success of The Mummy prompted a sequel, The Mummy Returns, but it would be almost eight years until the gang returned for a third outing. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor wasn’t nearly as well-received as the first two, especially as Maria Bello replaced Weisz as Evelyn. When asked if they consider it canon to their movie, Bettinelli-Olpin said, “Well, Rachel is in this one. That should answer the question for you.”
The sequel is currently slated for a May 19, 2028 release.