The InSneider is reporting that Michael Johnston (Obsession; X-Men '97) is currently in talks to join the cast of Universal's highly anticipated The Mummy 4.
Details on his role remain under wraps, but if/when his deal closes, he'll join a cast that is set to return franchise mainstays Brendan Fraser ("Rick O'Connell"), Rachel Weisz ("Evelyn O'Connell") and John Hannah ("Jonathan Carnahan").
Radio Silence’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have been tapped to helm the feature, with a screenplay from David Coggeshall (The Family Plan; Orphan: First Kill).
Sean Daniel, William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein, and Clayton Townsend are all listed as producers, while Brendan Fraser and Jason F. Brown are attached as executive producers.
Johnston broke out with Curry Barker's blockbuster horror hit Obsession, which has grossed over $458.8 million globally on an extremely modest $750,000 production budget. His other prominent credits include voicing Young Nathan Summers in Marvel Studios' X-Men '97, an episode of Supergirl (TV), and twenty-five episodes of Teen Wolf. He was also the voice of Dante in the Marvel's Avengers video game.
The Fraser-fronted films are among some of the biggest blockbusters of the early 2000s, with the trilogy grossing over $1.264 billion globally. The first two films have sustained a passionate fanbase over the years, so interest in the next chapter should certainly be at an all-time high.
While plot details on the fourth installment are being kept deep within Imhotep's tomb, Fraser previously teased how this will be the film he's wanted to make for nearly two decades. He told AP News last year, "The one I wanted to make was never made. The third one was a model of … how can I say this to the AP reporter? NBC had the rights to broadcast the Olympics that year. So they put two together and we went to China. Working in Shanghai, an incredible experience. I’m proud of the third one because I think it’s a good standalone movie. We picked up and did what we do with a different crew on deck and gave it our best shot. But the one I wanted to make is forthcoming. And I’ve been waiting 20 years for this call. Sometimes it was loud, sometimes it was a faint telegraph. Now? It’s time to give the fans what they want."
No word on a production start date, but we'd imagine, with casting underway, filming will presumably begin before the end of the year.
The Mummy 4 is set to hit theaters on October 15, 2027!