Brendan Fraser Decodes Why Tom Cruise’s ‘The Mummy’ Failed Ahead of 2026 Reboot
Brendan Fraser explains why Tom Cruise’s The Mummy failed, as Lee Cronin preps a chilling horror reboot for 2026 that leaves the original behind.
Brendan Fraser has finally spoken out about why Tom Cruise’s The Mummy crashed and burned, and it’s just in time because a brand new reboot is on the way with Lee Cronin at its helm. We still remember Fraser’s 1999 classic fondly because it was such a thrilling adventure.
But the 2017 reboot featuring Cruise was widely considered an infamous misfire. So, now as we gear up for the next chapter, it’s worth digging into why Fraser’s movie worked while the Top Gun star’s didn’t, and what the upcoming version is promising to bring us.
Brendan Fraser Weighs In On Why Tom Cruise’s The Mummy Flopped
Tom Cruise in The Mummy (2017) | Credits: Universal Pictures
During a panel moderated by Collider, Brendan Fraser reunited with The Mummy cast members like John Hannah, Patricia Velasquez, and Oded Fehr. But during the nostalgic get-together, the infamous 2017 reboot starring Tom Cruise entered the conversation, and Fraser pointed out what went wrong with the movie:
I really don’t know. I know Tom Cruise tried to make his movie and it ain’t easy! We all know how hard this movie is to make.
Here, Fraser isn’t trying to throw shade. He truly knows what it takes to make a movie of The Mummy’s caliber, which has both the thrill and an enjoyable quality that pleases the crowd. The actor was essentially saying that Cruise’s version failed because it forgot to be fun. He described the classic movies as a “thrill ride, and you wanted to do it again.”
And he’s right because Cruise’s The Mummy attempted to kickstart some kind of monsterverse, but instead, it buried the franchise even before taking off with all its unforgivable mistakes. Critics and audiences alike blasted the movie for having no direction, and it became a textbook example of a project that had all the ingredients but no soul.
The 2026 Reboot Leaves Behind Brendan Fraser’s Legacy for a Horror-Driven Vision
Brendan Fraser in The Mummy (1999) | Credits: Universal Pictures
Now, Universal has turned to the horror maestro Lee Cronin to reimagine The Mummy in a completely different light. He directed Evil Dead Rise, which grossed $147 million on a modest budget of $15 million (via The Numbers).
In a statement to Variety, Cronin said that his reboot will be “unlike any Mummy movie,” and declared that it was going to be “something very ancient and very frightening.” He will both direct and write the feature, which will be a chilling revival, but not an action-adventure spectacle.
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But this shift in tone means that Cronin will be leaving behind all the things that made Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy one of the most iconic movies of the ‘90s, that aged like fine wine, mostly because it had a relatable and funny action hero who was awkward, charming, and made everything feel real.
It seems like even this time around, we’re deviating too much from the original, and possibly going into the same territory as Cruise’s reboot. So, what do you think? Do we really need a horror-first reset, or are you still clinging to the 1999 classic?
You can watch The Mummy (1999) on AMC (USA)
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