Peacock is being taken over by Brendan Fraser’s new World War II thriller.
After winning an Academy Award for his performance in The Whale, Fraser has continued to take on a variety of roles, including lawyer W.S. Hamilton in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and actor Phillip Vanderploeg in the comedy-dramafilm Rental Family. For The Mummy 4, he is reprising the role of Rick O’Connell as he reunites with co-stars Rachel Weisz and John Hannah. The long-awaited sequel will be released in theaters on October 15, 2027.
City of the Dead · Expedition Briefing How Well Do You Know The Mummy? “It’s just a book. No harm ever came from reading a book.”
🏫The Mummy (1999)City of the Dead
☠The ReturnsImhotep rises again
🦂Scorpion KingArmy of Anubis
🌍AdventureAcross the desert
🎞Brendan FraserRick O’Connell
01
What is the name of the ancient Egyptian city of the dead where Rick O’Connell and the other characters discover Imhotep’s tomb?
✓ Correct! Hamunaptra, the legendary City of the Dead, is the mythical lost city hidden beneath the Egyptian desert where the treasure of Egypt is said to be buried. It serves as the central location for the entire first film and is where Imhotep was entombed alive with the Hom-Dai curse over three thousand years ago.
✗ Cursed! The answer is Hamunaptra. Thebes, Alexandria, and Memphis are all real ancient Egyptian cities, but Hamunaptra is the fictional City of the Dead created for the film. Rick O’Connell first stumbles upon it while serving in the French Foreign Legion, and its location is so secret that it vanishes beneath the desert sands.
02
Who plays Evelyn Carnahan, the librarian and Egyptologist who becomes Rick’s love interest?
✓ Correct! Rachel Weisz brought Evelyn Carnahan to life in both The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001), perfectly balancing bookish charm with action-heroine bravery. Her chemistry with Brendan Fraser was a key ingredient in making the franchise such a beloved adventure series.
✗ Cursed! The answer is Rachel Weisz. She played the brilliant and determined Evelyn in the first two Mummy films before being replaced by Maria Bello in Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). Weisz won an Academy Award for The Constant Gardener in 2006, cementing her status as one of the finest actresses of her generation.
03
Imhotep was cursed with the Hom-Dai, the worst of all ancient Egyptian curses, for murdering which Pharaoh?
✓ Correct! Imhotep, the high priest of Osiris, murdered Pharaoh Seti I after beginning a forbidden affair with Seti’s mistress, Anck-su-namun. For this ultimate act of sacrilege, the Medjai condemned him to the Hom-Dai — mummified alive with flesh-eating scarabs, sealed in a sarcophagus for all eternity.
✗ Cursed! The answer is Pharaoh Seti I. Imhotep and Anck-su-namun, the Pharaoh’s mistress, conspired to murder Seti I so they could be together. The Hom-Dai curse was so feared that it had never been performed before, because it would give the cursed one the power to bring about the ten plagues of Egypt if ever resurrected.
04
What is the name of the magical book that Evelyn reads from, accidentally resurrecting Imhotep?
✓ Correct! The Book of the Dead (the Black Book) is the ancient text bound in black that Evelyn reads aloud at Hamunaptra, unwittingly awakening Imhotep from his three-thousand-year slumber. The Book of Amun-Ra (the Gold Book) is its counterpart, which can be used to kill Imhotep and send him back to the underworld.
✗ Cursed! The answer is The Book of the Dead. Don’t confuse it with the Book of Amun-Ra, which is the golden book that can reverse the curse and destroy Imhotep. Evelyn famously defended her actions by insisting “it’s just a book,” only to realize too late that reading its incantations brought a world of ancient terror roaring back to life.
05
In The Mummy Returns (2001), Rick and Evelyn’s son Alex is kidnapped. What ancient artifact has attached itself to Alex’s wrist?
✓ Correct! The Bracelet of Anubis is the powerful artifact that locks onto young Alex O’Connell’s wrist and reveals the path to the Scorpion King’s hidden oasis. The bracelet acts as a countdown timer — if not removed before the golden pyramid of Ahm Shere is reached, it will suck the life from its wearer.
✗ Cursed! The answer is The Bracelet of Anubis. This ancient relic was the key to finding the Scorpion King’s lair at the oasis of Ahm Shere. Once Alex put it on, it projected holographic visions of Egyptian landmarks guiding the way to the oasis, making him both the key to ultimate power and a target for Imhotep and his followers.
06
Which professional wrestling star made his film debut as the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns before getting his own spinoff?
✓ Correct! Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made his feature film debut as the Scorpion King, Mathayus, in The Mummy Returns. His brief but memorable role led directly to the 2002 spinoff film The Scorpion King, which launched Johnson’s massive acting career and eventually made him Hollywood’s highest-paid star.
✗ Cursed! The answer is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Before becoming one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, Johnson was still a WWE champion when he was cast as the ancient warrior king Mathayus. The Scorpion King spinoff earned over $180 million worldwide and set the Guinness World Record for the highest salary for a first-time lead actor.
07
In The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), the action moves from Egypt to which country?
✓ Correct! The third film takes the O’Connell family to China, where they face the resurrected Emperor Han, a cursed dragon emperor played by Jet Li. The movie spans locations from 1940s Shanghai to the Himalayas and features the Terracotta Army coming to life in a climactic battle sequence.
✗ Cursed! The answer is China. Tomb of the Dragon Emperor moved away from Egyptian mythology entirely, pitting the O’Connells against a Chinese emperor cursed by a sorceress. Jet Li starred as Emperor Han, and the film featured iconic Chinese settings including the Great Wall, Shanghai, and the legendary Terracotta Army of Xi’an.
08
What secret ancient order is dedicated to protecting Hamunaptra and preventing Imhotep’s resurrection?
✓ Correct! The Medjai are the ancient warriors who have guarded the City of the Dead for over three thousand years, sworn to prevent anyone from disturbing Imhotep’s resting place. Led by Ardeth Bay (played by Oded Fehr), they are fierce desert fighters who become crucial allies to Rick O’Connell across the first two films.
✗ Cursed! The answer is The Medjai. This secret order of desert warriors has protected Hamunaptra for millennia, ensuring that Imhotep’s terrible curse is never unleashed upon the world. Their leader, Ardeth Bay, initially opposes Rick and Evelyn’s expedition but ultimately becomes one of their most trusted allies in the fight against the resurrected priest.
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Medjai warrior — or just another treasure hunter?
Now, it is Fraser’s World War II thriller Pressure that is dominating Peacock. One day after coming to the streaming service, the film is in second place on the platform’s chart of top 10 movies. Breakout horror hit Obsession is in first place, and behind Pressure are Reminders of Him, The Odyssey: Making of an Epic, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Shark Tale, Men in Black II, Shrek 2, Men in Black 3, and Shrek the Third.
Pressure is about the 72 hours before D-Day, with Fraser playing General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Andrew Scott playing Group Captain James Stagg, who is an expert meteorologist. Due to the importance of the pending invasion, Stagg is brought in to determine when, per weather conditions, is the best moment to launch the attack. Rather than the actual fighting between soldiers, the story mostly focuses on the tense lead-up to D-Day.
In ScreenRant‘s Pressure review, Brandon Zachary gave the movie six out of 10 stars and praised how “Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser do terrific work in the lead roles.” However, he argued that “it’s not necessarily a must-see for anyone who isn’t already interested in WW2 history.”
The movie had an even stronger reception on Rotten Tomatoes, where it has a “Certified Fresh” 87% critics’ score and “Verified Hot” 95% audience score. This continues a strong Rotten Tomatoes streak for Fraser, with this being his third film in a row with a critics’ score of 82% or higher and his second in a row with a 95% audience score. 2027’s The Mummy 4 will be the next opportunity to extend both of these streaks.
In addition to Fraser and Scott, the cast of the D-Day movie includes Kerry Condon as MTC First Lieutenant Kay Summersby and Chris Messina as USAAF Colonel Irving P. Krick. Summersby is Eisenhower’s secretary and confidante, but is unafraid to speak her mind around him, and provides invaluable support to Stagg as well. Krick is a meteorologist who has a history of working with Eisenhower and finds himself at odds with Stagg and his position on the weather forecast for the invasion.
Pressure was originally a stage play written by David Haig, which debuted at the Royal Lyceum Theater in 2014. He adapted the story for the screen via a screenplay he co-wrote with Anthony Maras, who directed the movie.
