Daniel Radcliffe is hopping back into the adventure genre with the upcoming film The Lost City, which will have him starring opposite Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum. The new movie has drawn comparisons in reviews to past action-romances, including –yes– The Mummy. Now , the actor has revealed he’s a huge fan of the Brendan Fraser film while speaking out about its parallels to his new movie. Bring on the Brenaissance.
Speaking out about the cinematic history The Lost City ties into, Romancing The Stone is obviously one and the 1999 classic The Mummy is another. Daniel Radcliffe recently explained to the New York Times how his movie connects with one of “favorite” childhood classic, but also mentioned in the same breath how much he loves the monster movie. Here’s what he said:
'Romancing the Stone' is obviously a big point of comparison, and also the first 'Mummy' movie with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. That’s one of my favorite films, and this does feel like a classic adventure film where you’re rooting for the characters and rooting for the relationship, but also it’s that slightly heightened world where even in deadly, perilous moments, people are still being quippy and funny with each other and it’s a delight.
Radcliffe’s comments on the Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz movie make total sense to me, not only in context of how The Lost City nods at the past film, but also in regards to the actor’s personal feelings about the mummy-oriented movie. Daniel Radcliffe would have grown up with The Mummy; he’s the right age for The Mummy to be his Indiana Jones. Couple that with the fact that The Mummy has gone viral just in the last year and the fact that Fraser himself is in the middle of a career comeback, and the comment feels particularly timely.
What Is The Brendan Fraser Brenaissance?
For some backstory, Brendan Fraser had not been a leading man in theatrical vehicles for some time following a series of movies (Journey to the Center of the Earth, Monkeybone, Inkheart) that maybe hadn’t landed as well as expected (and left him in and out of hospitals following stunt injuries for some time). He’s still worked regularly over the past decade in projects such as The Affair and Texas Rising, but more recently he’s seen interest resurge in a big way.
After a role in Doom Control landed him more notice, the actor signed on for gigs in a Darren Aronofsy film and, of course, playing Firefly in the upcoming Batgirl movie. Fans have been super supportive about this online, and there was even a viral video where an interviewer spoke about the Internet “rooting” for Fraser that rolled around. This, my friends, is the Brenaissance.
Meanwhile, it’s nice to know that it’s not just the Internet rooting for Fraser. Clearly, Daniel Radcliffe is a fan too, and I’m particularly happy he’s recognized the parallels between his upcoming film and the popular adventure film that came before. It's even cooler coming from an actor who has also seen his career hit great heights thanks to a major franchise, in his case Harry Potter, and then have to figure out how to carve his own path out after. There are some major parallels between the two careers, including Radcliffe's own stint on TV with Miracle Workers.
Of course, while we wait for all of these upcoming releases from both actors, there are still plenty of ways to revisit some classic Brendan Fraser movies, including The Mummy. Now, who do I need to pay to get Daniel Radcliffe and Brendan Fraser in a film together?
