Michael Johnston, whose breakout turn in the horror hit “Obsession” made him one of the year’s fastest-rising stars, is in early talks to join the fourth “Mummy” film, according to Deadline. If the deal closes, Johnston would appear alongside Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, who are reprising the roles that launched their careers in the franchise’s 1999 original and its 2001 sequel, “The Mummy Returns.” John Hannah is also expected to return. No details on Johnston’s character have emerged, and Universal declined to comment.
The new film comes from Radio Silence directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, best known for “Ready or Not” and recent entries in the “Scream” franchise, working from a script by David Coggeshall, who wrote “Orphan: First Kill.” Universal has set an October 15, 2027 release date, and production is expected to begin this fall. Sean Daniel, who has produced every “Mummy” installment since the franchise began, returns alongside Project X’s William Sherak, James Vanderbilt and Paul Neinstein. Fraser will also serve as an executive producer.
Johnston’s rise has been rapid. Before this year, his credits included a run on “Teen Wolf” and smaller titles such as “Slash” and “Endangered Species,” and he entered 2026 without an agent. That changed after “Obsession,” a $750,000 horror film that Focus Features acquired out of the Toronto International Film Festival, turned into a global hit, grossing more than $458 million and becoming the specialty label’s highest-grossing release. Johnston played Bear, a young man whose life unravels after a wish goes wrong, and the role’s success led him to sign with Gersh.
The original “Mummy,” directed by Stephen Sommers, and its sequel together earned more than $1.8 billion combined and turned Fraser into one of the era’s defining action stars. Weisz sat out 2008’s “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” making her return alongside Fraser a significant draw for longtime fans of the series. Keeping Johnston in the Universal family also extends a relationship that began with Focus, the studio’s genre-focused label, distributing his career-making film.
