Fraser, Weisz Take on Mummy 2 From Mr Showbiz.
Evil mummies beware, strapping hero-adventurer Rick O'Connell and plucky
librarian Evelyn Carnahan, known off screen as Brendan Fraser and Rachel
Weisz, will be back to battle more of the bandaged undead. The two stars of
the 1999 surprise box office hit The Mummy have signed on to The Mummy 2,
Universal Pictures announced.
They're still negotiating Fraser's cut, but his salary is expected to be in the
neighborhood of $12.5 million, reports Variety. It's thanks to The Mummy's
$43.6 million opening weekend that the amiable star of George of the Jungle
and School Ties is now within spitting distance of Leo and other A-listers'
salaries. Fraser's already doubled his $5 million Mummy check with a $10
million payday for 20th Century Fox's remake of Bedazzled.
Although the success of the horror-adventure film caught Universal without
sequel deals for its stars, Fraser and Weisz have been expected to sign back on
since screenwriter-director Stephen Sommers made a sequel commitment six
months ago.
Four Weddings and a Funeral player John Hannah recently agreed to return to
the sequel in the comic-relief role of Weisz's brother, Jonathan Carnahan, for
his first $1 million deal.
The Mummy, set in 1923 Egypt, combined a retro-swashbuckling tone with lots
of Industrial Light & Magic-style special effects. It began with Fraser's
character accidentally awakening a powerful 3,000-year-old mummified priest
bent on revenge.
According to Universal, The Mummy has taken in more than $400 million
worldwide to date, placing it 31st on the all-time box office list. Considering
only domestic ticket sales, the horror film ranks 65th, with $155 million.
Sommers has indicated the sequel would focus on the creature resurfacing in
London and, naturally, running amok. Unlike dashing screen bachelor Indiana
Jones, the script calls for Fraser and Weisz's characters to be married with a
9-year-old son who shows the same daring flair as his father, says Universal
production president Kevin Misher.
Shooting in such locations as Egypt, London, and Morocco, will get under way
this spring for a May 2001 release.