Everyone was shocked when it was announced that Rachel Weisz took on the role of Evelyn Carnahan. She wasn’t fond of horror films and no one had really expected her to jump into that genre, at least on the silver screen. She had performed as a theater actress and handled roles in thrillers pretty well, so she wasn’t completely unprepared to make the leap.
So, why would she accept the role offered by The Mummy? Simple. Weisz didn’t think of The Mummy as a standard horror film. She had been pressed with the same question during various interviews and press conferences and offered the same answer every time. “It’s hokum, a comic book world.” No wonder it was a blockbuster.
The Main Star
Brendan Fraser starred as the main character in the box-office movie, George of the Jungle. James Jacks and Stephen Sommers, the directors of The Mummy, saw how George of the Jungle took over the cinemas. Sommers had an epiphany moment and knew that Fraser would bring life to the character of Rick O’Connell.
Fraser seemed to exude the swag and spirit of the character in Sommer’s mind. “Rick O’Connell doesn’t take himself too seriously,” Fraser said about his role. He knew that if the character acted otherwise, the audience wouldn’t get the same thrill out of their journey to Hamunaptra.
The Carnahans and The Carnarvons
Of course, we’ve got to talk about Evie Carnahan. This intelligent Egyptologist was played by English actress, Rachel Weisz, in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. Did you know that there is a hidden meaning in the characters name?
Evelyn might be an ordinary name, but writers put serious thought into the naming of their characters. Evelyn Carnahan is actually an homage to Lady Evelyn Carnarvon, the daughter of Egyptologist, Lord Carnarvon. The Carnarvons etched their names in history when they opened the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. Talk about legacy!
Arnold Vosloo
So, who was the brave actor who played the mummy? The role was brought to life by none other than the famous South African stage actor, Arnold Vosloo. Vosloo and Sommers had a connection that worked out pretty well for the film.
The actor agreed to play Imhotep, one of the Pharaoh’s adviser, but before taking the job, he said that he would only take the role if he “could do it absolutely straight.” Sommers agreed, and Vosloo did a smash hit job in the role. Vosloo added that coming from Imhotep’s point of view, “The Mummy is a skewed version of Romeo and Juliet.” But the film didn’t come to a tragic end in the cinemas. It was a success.
A Spur in 1992
James Jacks and Sean Daniel, the film’s producers, originally wanted to remake The Mummy in 1992. Universal Studios supported them and set $10 million for a “low-budget horror franchise.” Jacks and Daniel knew one person who could help them, Clive Barker, a prominent horror filmmaker and writer. However, the producers’ vision differed from Barker’s.
Barker re-imagined the film to be set in a contemporary art museum that wanted to reanimate the mummies. It was a cultist kind of re-imagination. As Jacks put it, “Barker’s take was dark, sexual, and filled with mysticism.” But nevertheless, Jacks knew that “it would have been a great low-budget movie.” After numerous meetings that seemed to come no nearer to an agreement, Barker and Universal Studios lost interest in the project.