Brendan Fraser has an idea as to why Universal's The Mummy reboot flopped back in 2017.

The actor, who starred as Rick O'Connell in three The Mummy films between 1999 and 2008, explained why the big-budget reboot starring Tom Cruise failed at the box office, chalking it up to a lack of fun. "It is hard to make that movie," he told Variety. "The ingredient that we had going for our Mummy, which I didn’t see in that film, was fun. That was what was lacking in that incarnation. It was too much of a straight-ahead horror movie. The Mummy should be a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary." The actor added, "I know how difficult it is to pull it off. I tried to do it three times."

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Following the release of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in 2008, Universal began work on a fourth film, which was later canceled in 2012 with plans to reboot the franchise. The resulting film, 2017's The Mummy, starred Tom Cruise as a soldier of fortune who accidentally unearths the ancient tomb of entrapped Egyptian princess Ahmanet, who was played by Kingsman's Sofia Boutella. The film was developed as the first installment in the Dark Universe series, an action-driven reimagining of the Universal Monsters franchise. However, the film's poor box office performance led Universal to scrap the Dark Universe in favor of developing standalone horror films like 2020's The Invisible Man.

The Mummy Helped Launch Dwayne Johnson's Acting Career

Fraser's Mummy trilogy is notable for helping launch the acting career of Dwayne Johnson, who played one of The Mummy Returns' undead antagonists, Mathayus of Akkad/Scorpion King, in the 2001 film. Johnson is now one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, with his latest film, the DC superhero epic Black Adam, set to open in theaters in October. The actor recently took to Twitter to thank Fraser for his support during the filming of The Mummy Returns, which served as his acting debut.

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Fraser is currently earning some of the best reviews of his career for his lead performance in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale, which stars the actor as a 600-pound middle-aged man attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughter, played by Stranger Things' Sadie Sink. The psychological drama film had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival in September, where it received a six-minute standing ovation, stunning Fraser who was brought to tears by the gesture.

The Whale opens in theaters on December 9.

Source: Variety