As far as the world of movies is concerned, actor Brendan Fraser is in the middle of a career renaissance. With roles in Martin Scorsese’s next film and a villainous expansion to his duties in the DC Comics multiverse, the fan favorite actor from The Mummy franchise is popping up quite a bit as of late. If the theory behind Universal Orlando’s big refurb of the legacy film’s roller coaster is true, it’s still not looking good for the Brenaissance in this specific instance.
The Theory Behind What Universal Orlando’s Mummy Refurb
Earlier this year Revenge of The Mummy was closed for refurbishment at Universal Studios Orlando, with the projected reopening slated for a “late summer” date. Everything from track replacement to a re-theming of the queue has been mentioned as potentially taking place during this lengthy window of downtime. At most, it was starting to sound like that latter part of the project would remove segments filmed with Mr. Fraser, on the set of the fictitious Mummy sequel the ride is supposed to take guests through. Theme park enthusiast channel Poseidon Entertainment seems to think that something greater is at foot, and it’s a massive change. If the theory presented in a recent video is accurate, Revenge of The Mummy might be re-theming towards the entire Universal Monsters canon.
At the very least, the ride could be more centered around Boris Karloff’s 1932 incarnation, as he’s currently on display in the recently opened Universal Monsters Tribute Store. Citing the opening of the Jurassic World Tribute Store shortly before last year’s grand opening of the VelociCoaster opened in the park, the theory states that tribute stores could be a precursors to what we should expect from future attractions. As such, the inclusion Karloff’s Mummy, among other Monsters icons throughout the shop, could be a hint that we’re going to see a totally different mummy experience when the ride opens up again later this year.
This Theory Isn't Good For Brendan Fraser, But Really Good For Universal’s Epic Universe
The bad news here is that, naturally, the closest thing we got to a fourth Mummy movie with Brendan Fraser could be going away. While it might still be named Revenge of The Mummy, the indoor roller coaster is being hinted at encapsulating the entire classic canon that made the 1999 remake possible. It kind of makes sense, as the walls blocking the ride off for construction have hinted to a similar outcome, thanks to including posters for both the Fraser films and other Universal horror classics in the set decoration. Much as the Minions surrounding the former home of Shrek 4-D got everyone talking about a potential Minions ride, Mr. Fraser’s potential departure seems to be backed up by even more writing on the wall.
Should this theory pan out, it’s a really good sign for Universal’s Epic Universe, as it too has been the subject of rumors surrounding the Monsters gang. The currently under construction third gate has been speculated to be including an entire section dedicated to the Universal Monsters. While not confirmed, stoking the fires surrounding this brand is a way to warm the public up for such a potential announcement. That is, if Revenge of The Mummy’s new form isn’t met with the same sort of reception reserved for the Dark Universe cinematic franchise.
We’re obviously dealing with a lot of “what ifs” and “could bes” when discussing the future of this attraction, so nothing above is set in stone. But if Universal Orlando wanted to test the brand of the Universal Monsters before potentially debuting an entire section themed after them, this would be the way to do it. We may be losing Brendan Fraser goodness, but we could be gaining some insight into just what Epic Universe is going to use to win the public over.
Revenge of The Mummy is closed for refurbishment until at least late summer 2022, with Universal’s Epic Universe slated to open at some point in 2025. Cinematically, Brendan Fraser has Killers of the Flower Moon and the HBO Max original film Batgirl in line for the year to come. Meanwhile, you can relive the first two entries of the Fraser Mummy movies, as part of the best movies on HBO Max.
