Highlights
- Brendan Fraser believes that Tom Cruise’s version of The Mummy failed because it lacked the fun factor that his films had.
- Fraser did all his own stunts for The Mummy movies, putting his life at risk and suffering on-set accidents as a result.
- Fraser is open to reprising his role in a new The Mummy movie if the right concept comes along, and there are rumors of a potential reunion with the original cast.
Brendan Fraser was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars during the late 90s and 2000s. Since he landed his first leading role playing a defrosted caveman on the 1002 comedy Encino Man, Fraser became in many movies, including Blast from the Past, Gods and Monsters, and The Mummy. But by the late 2000s, his career took a turn for the worse. For a while, Fraser only seemed to be cast in box-office flops, before he stepped away from the spotlight altogether.
One of Fraser’s most iconic roles was the adventurer Rick O’Connell in The Mummy, which he reprised for the movie’s two sequels. However, when they did a reboot of this iconic movie series in 2017, Fraser was not included. Instead, Tom Cruise was cast in the main role.
Ultimately, Cruise’s version of The Mummy flopped at the box office. Most recently, Fraser revealed why he thinks this movie failed so badly.
These Brendan Fraser Movies Have Grossed Over $100 Million At The Box Office
While we wait to see what Brendan Fraser does next, let’s take a look back at his biggest movies that brought in over $100 million in the box office.
Brendan Fraser Thinks Tom Cruise’s Version Of The Mummy Flopped Because It Was Not Fun Enough
After the success of the first three movies, producers were ready to make another The Mummy movie. The film, titled The Mummy: Rise of the Aztecs, would’ve seen Antonio Banderas as the villain, alongside Brendan Fraser and John Hannah reprising their roles. However, plans for this film were scrapped in 2012 when Universal Pictures opted to reboot the entire series instead.
The studio hired director Alex Kurtzman, who decided to do something completely different to the original Fraser-led films. He envisioned this new version of The Mummy as a modern action movie. So, it made sense to cast Hollywood’s best action lead man, Tom Cruise, as the main star of the film.
Brendan Fraser’s Role In George Of The Jungle Had Parents Upset For This Wild Reason (And It Wasn’t About His Diet)
Brendan Fraser did a lot of wild things for his role in George of the Jungle, leaving some parents upset with the actor.
Ultimately, the 2017 version of The Mummy was a huge flop. Critics weren’t impressed with the plot or the actors, with most agreeing that Fraser’s films were far superior. Ultimately, Cruise’s The Mummy grossed over $410 million worldwide but only made about $80 million in the US. Due to its high production and marketing costs, the movie lost as much as $95 million.
In a recent interview, Fraser threw shade at Cruise’s version of The Mummy. Talking with Variety, Fraser revealed why he thinks this reboot failed so badly.
“It is hard to make that movie. The ingredient that we had going for our Mummy, which I didn’t see in that film, was fun,” he explained. “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. I know how difficult it is to pull it off. I tried to do it three times.”
Brendan Fraser’s Role In The Mummy Hurt The Actor’s Health
Brendan Fraser did all his own stunts for the three The Mummy movies. This made for a lot of great shots, but it also put the actor’s life at risk many times. In fact, in 2019, Fraser revealed that he almost died on the set of The Mummy.
The actor explained that they were filming a scene in which his character was about to be publicly hanged. “It was scary. Rick is dangling at the end of the rope, and he’s such a tough guy that his neck didn’t snap,” Fraser explained, adding that, unlike his character, he did “get fully choked-out.”
“The first take, I’m doing my best choking acting. Steve [Sommers] says, ‘Can we got for another one and take up the tension on the rope?’ I said, ‘All right, one more take.’ Because a noose around your neck is going to choke you in the arteries, no matter what,” he explained. “So, the stuntman took up the tension on the rope, and I went up on the balls of my feet, then guess he took the tension up again, and I’m not a ballerina, I can’t stand on my tip-toes.”
Ultimately, the tension was too much and Fraser blacked out. “I regained consciousness and one of the EMTs was saying my name,” he admitted.
Brendan Fraser Can’t Look At Himself When Re-Watching The Mummy
Brendan Fraser had a blast working The Mummy, but he wasn’t fond on re-watching his own scenes for a particular reason.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only on-set accident Fraser suffered while filming The Mummy movies.
“By the time I did the third Mummy picture in China,” he told Far Out Magazine, “I was put together with tape and ice—just, like, really nerdy and fetishy about ice packs. Screw-cap ice packs and downhill-mountain-biking pads, ’cause they’re small and light and they can fit under your clothes. I was building an exoskeleton for myself daily.”
Doing his own stunts for The Mummy movies deeply impacted Fraser’s health and career.
“I needed a laminectomy,” Fraser recalled. “And the lumbar didn’t take, so they had to do it again a year later.” Over the next seven years, the actor had to go through many more surgeries, including a partial knee replacement and having his vocal cords repaired. “I felt like the horse from Animal Farm, whose job it was to work and work and work,” Fraser admitted.
Brendan Fraser Wants To Reprise His Role In The Mummy
Ever since he made his big comeback by starring in The Whale, fans have been wondering if Brendan Fraser would be up for starring in a new The Mummy movie. Luckily, the answer seems positive. “I don’t know how it would work,” Fraser told Variety. “But I’d be open to it if someone came up with the right conceit.”
Earlier this month, there were some rumors that a new The Mummy movie was in the works. This movie would bring back the original cast, including Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, and even Dwayne Johnson. So, who knows? Fans might get to see Fraser reprise the role of Rick O’Connell sometime in the future!
Source: NewsFinale
