After a pretty long break, Brendan Fraser and Dwayne Johnson were finally reunited for the mummy of all reunions at the 95th Oscars. For those who don’t already know, Fraser and Johnson starred together in 2001’s The Mummy Returns, a sequel to The Mummy where moviegoers got introduced to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, WWF wrestler-turned-actor, as the antagonist, Scorpion King in his feature film debut. Coincidently, Johnson had been on hand for the ceremony as he was presenting the Best Animated Feature Oscar with Emily Blunt, his co-star from Jungle Cruise. Later that night, Fraser would go on to win his first Oscar for his acclaimed role in the drama film The Whale, as Charlie — a housebound excessively obese man — directed by Darren Aronofsky.
Johnson shared a video to Instagram on Thursday of the “full circle moment” set to Jay-Z’s “Encore.” Fraser can be seen introducing Johnson to his sons, Leland and Holden Fraser in the video Johnson posted to his Instagram.
Johnson captioned his post: “My very first film of my Hollywood career was THE MUMMY RETURNS, which Brendan was the star. Lots of critics and cynics betting against me at that time, but Brendan welcomed me with open arms and was very supportive. I never forget kind people. Now years later, Brendan wins his Oscar for BEST ACTOR in ‘The Whale’ and I went on to become famous for wearing a fanny pack. Congratulations, brother — enjoy your flowers.”
The Mummy Returns brought back Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, and Arnold Vosloo, who also originally co-starred in the first Mummy movie. The sequel also spawned the 2002 spin-off/prequel The Scorpion King. The movie, in which Johnson plays the title character Mathayus of Akkad, topped the box office and went on to rake in $180 million worldwide on a $60 million budget.
In 2020, Johnson announced his eagerness to produce a reboot of The Scorpion King at Universal Pictures through his Seven Bucks Productions. Johnson stated he was “honored and excited to reimagine and deliver this cool mythology to a whole new generation,” reminiscing his film career-launching role: “I wouldn’t have had the career I’m lucky enough to have had it not been for The Scorpion King and I’m thrilled that we at Seven Bucks Productions can help create those same opportunities for other hard-working actors today.”
Fraser has also kept an open mind to revisit the world of The Mummy, stating that a potential return as the adventurer, Rick O’Connell “sounds like fun.”
“Not, like, officially, no, but I know the fans have,” said Fraser in an interview with Entertainment Weekly when asked about the potential of making The Mummy 4. “I’ve been having a great time in recent years, in my so-called hiatus, going to fan conventions, keeping it real, meeting everybody and thanking them personally for putting me where I am. I think I got over myself, insofar as ‘I’m too busy’ or ‘That’s not for me,’ I don’t know what I was thinking. I needed to have some gratitude.”
Following his last reprised role that he played in 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Fraser expressed his thoughts by saying, “I’m always looking for a job, if anyone’s got the right conceit. I’ve never been as famous and as unsalaried than I am at the moment, so, spread the word!”
