2026’s The Mummy Title Change Is Way More Meaningful Than It Looks

What do you think of when you think of The Mummy? Your first thought might go to the 1932 Boris Karloff film, which was part of the classic Universal Monsters family. There's a chance you think of the ill-fated Tom Cruise reboot from 2017, now infamous for having killed the studio's hopes for a "Dark Universe" of interconnected monster movies before it even started. But, more likely than not, you'll picture Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in the 1999 remake. That film, which takes its atmospheric horror inspiration and creates a swoon-worthy action-adventure story, is a far more enduring hit than the original.

Hollywood more or less agrees. There are two different Mummy projects coming in the future – a Blumhouse reimagining hitting theaters later this year; and The Mummy 4, with Fraser and Weisz reprising their roles, in 2028 – and it's the former that's had to cede its right to the clean, simple title. Instead, it's called Lee Cronin's The Mummy, neatly distinguishing it from the established franchise set to make a big-screen return.

But that title tweak is also subtly doing quite a bit more than that.

Lee Cronin's The Mummy Is A Sign Of Positive Change In Hollywood

At first glance, Lee Cronin's The Mummy is an odd choice for a title. Horror audiences being attuned to specific filmmakers is a time-honored tradition, but Cronin is far from a household name, even among fans. He has two previous features under his belt, most notably 2023's Evil Dead Rise, a strong hit that did more for the franchise's branding than general awareness of the filmmaker behind it. That is to say, he's no John Carpenter. Throwing his name in there won't help sell the movie.

The studio knows it, too. The new trailer for The Mummy doesn't mention Cronin's previous credits as points of comparison, instead heralding this film as "from the studio that brought you Weapons." Does it make sense to highlight the bigger, more recent hit? Absolutely. But referencing Evil Dead Rise could also give audiences a clue as to what they're in for. There's certain to be a direct line from the body horror already on display in this trailer to Cronin's creative deployment of a cheese grater in his previous film.

It would seem that who the director is matters less than the basic fact that this version of The Mummy is attributable to someone. There is a single (and, the implication goes, singular) creative vision behind this new film – an author, if you will. You don't have to know who Cronin is to understand that putting his name in the title means you're being promised a take on The Mummy unlike any you've seen before. And, based on the extremely creepy trailer, the film seems to be delivering on that promise.

This is a very good thing. Increasingly, after a couple decades of franchise dominance, audiences are building relationships with individual filmmakers at the studio level. The interest in film formats sparked by Oppenheimer and fueled by Sinners is an example of this, rooted as it is in seeing a movie as it was originally intended to be seen. And Lee Cronin's The Mummy is proof that Hollywood recognizes this trend and thinks it matters, even when IP is in play.

If it succeeds at the box office, not only could it help launch Cronin into a different level of audience awareness, but it could start to happen more often. Zach Cregger's Resident Evil? Robert Eggers' Werwulf? Greta Gerwig's Narnia? Or, perhaps, more cases like this one, that help a less-known filmmaker become a name people can easily recognize.