Writer/director Lee Cronin has decided to follow up Evil Dead Rise by making a Mummy movie… but not for Universal
Back in June, it was announced that Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin had signed on to write and direct a new genre project for Atomic Monster, Blumhouse Productions, and New Line Cinema… and now we know what that mysterious project is. The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that Cronin has come up with a new take on the concept of The Mummy! Cronin confirmed, “This will be unlike any Mummy movie you ever laid eyeballs on before. I’m digging deep into the earth to raise something very ancient and very frightening.” The film is set to reach theatres on April 17, 2026.
It should be noted that, since the project is set up at New Line Cinema, this “new take on the horror trope revolving around the ancient mummified undead” has nothing to do with the classic Universal horror property. We heard back in May that there are three Mummy projects in development at Universal, including a prequel that screenwriter Wes Tooke is working on and a sequel to the Brendan Fraser films (those being The Mummy 1999, The Mummy Returns, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor).
As The Hollywood Reporter put it, “Plot details are being kept in the sarcophagus but Cronin is hoping to breathe modern life into ageless evil.”
This version of The Mummy may be entirely separate from Universal’s Mummy projects, but Cronin’s collaborators at Atomic Monster and Blumhouse Production have been entrusted with making official reboots of some Universal properties. Blumhouse was behind the 2020 version of The Invisible Man, and their Wolf Man reboot (which is directed by The Invisible Man‘s Leigh Whannell) is set to reach theatres on January 17, 2025. Meanwhile, Atomic Monster is developing “a grounded modernized retelling” of Creature from the Black Lagoon that James Wan is expected to direct from a script by Sean Tretta. That project is said to lean into “visceral horror while paying respect to the original classic.”
We don’t know what Lee Cronin’s Mummy movie is going to be called, but we do know that Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are co-financing the film. James Wan is producing alongside Jason Blum and John Keville. Michael Clear, Judson Scott, and Macdara Kelleher serve as executive producers. Alayna Glasthal is the executive overseeing the project for Atomic Monster.
What do you think of the fact that Lee Cronin is making a Mummy movie for Atomic Monster, Blumhouse Productions, and New Line Cinema. Let us know by leaving a comment below.