Los Angeles:“Obsession” star Michael Johnston is in early talks to join the next instalment of “The Mummy".
If the deal comes through, it will be Johnston’s first big role following the success of the indie horror project, which grossed more than $ 458 million globally. Johnston previously starred in "Teen Wolf", "Slash" and Lionsgate’s "Endangered Species".
Academy Award winners Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz will return as Rick and Evelyn O’Connell. John Hannah will also reprise his role.
The new film picks up the timeline after the events of 2001's "The Mummy Returns,” and will release on October 15, 2027, reported Variety.
Radio Silence’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, known for “Ready or Not” and its sequel, will helm the movie based on a screenplay by David Coggeshall of "The Family Plan" and "Orphan: First Kill" fame.
Sean Daniel, who produced all the four films in the franchise, will return as the producer. William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein, and Clayton Townsend will also produce, while Brendan Fraser and Hivemind’s Jason F. Brown will serve as executive producers.
“The Mummy” follows Fraser as Rick O’Connell, a treasure hunter who accidentally awakens a cursed Egyptian priest with supernatural powers. Fraser led two more films- 2001's “The Mummy Returns” and 2008’s “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”. The 2017's Tom Cruise starrer “The Mummy” was part of Universal’s now-scrapped “Dark Universe” and was the fourth film in the series, but it turned out to be a box office disaster.