Brendan Fraser Returning To His Best Role?
2022 has been quite the career renaissance for Brendan Fraser, but could this return to form bring him back to his most iconic role in The Mummy? Brendan Fraser rocketed into superstardom when he appeared in 1999’s The Mummy as the swashbuckling adventurer Rick O’Connell. Speaking to Variety, Fraser indicated he would possibly return if asked, saying “I’d be open to it if someone came up with the right conceit.”
The Mummy was popular enough to warrant two sequels — The Mummy Returns in 2001 and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008 – but we haven’t seen Fraser in the role since. When Universal tried to get its Monsterverse off the ground, they tried bringing Tom Cruise in as the lead for 2017’s The Mummy, but the movie didn’t capture the fun and adventurous nature of the originals. Bringing Brendan Fraser back would do a lot to assuage fan concerns if The Mummy franchise was to return.
Now would be as good of a time as any for Brendan Fraser to return to the world of The Mummy. The actor recently gave a standing ovation-worthy performance in The Whale, which made its debut at the Venice International Film Festival. The Darren Aronofsky-directed film stars Fraser as a severely obese teacher and father who tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Sadie Sink).
There are mumblings of Oscar nominations in Brendan Fraser’s future after his vulnerable performance in The Whale, and Oscar attention could certainly poise him for some blockbuster offers like The Mummy in the near future. Fans are especially going to be clamoring to see Fraser in an action role after the anticipated Batgirl was canceled by Warner Bros. The Leslie Grace-starring Batgirl was reportedly cut for tax purposes and would have seen Fraser in an antagonist role.
While Brendan Fraser’s Batgirl performance likely won’t see the light of day (at least anytime soon), we do have other performances from the actor to look forward to. In addition to his role in The Whale, Fraser will also have a role in the upcoming Martin Scorcese film Killers of the Flower Moon. Killers of the Flower Moon seems like it’ll be the perfect prestige drama to keep Fraser’s hot streak going.
Killers of the Flower Moon, based on the book by David Grann, tells the story of the FBI investigation into the mysterious murders of members of the Osage tribe in the 1920s. Along with having Scorsese as director, the cast is stacked from top to bottom with stars. Along with Brendan Fraser, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, Cara Jade Myers, Janae Collins, Jillian Dion, William Belleau, and more.
While we’ll have to wait until 2023 to see Brendan Fraser in Killers of the Flower Moon, we won’t have to wait nearly that long to see his next performance. You can see Fraser in The Whale when it is released on December 9. In the meantime, let’s cross our fingers that someone starts working on a way to bring Brendan Fraser back to The Mummy franchise.
