Brendan Fraser Shares His Thoughts on Tom Cruise’s ‘The Mummy’

Brendan Fraser became a household name after starring the 1999 film “The Mummy.”

The actor portrayed the adventurous Rick O’Connell in first movie, as well as in the 2001 sequel, “The Mummy Returns,” and third and final film released in 2008, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.”

While the trilogy became a classic, the franchise was rebooted in 2017 with Tom Cruise as the lead. In a new interview with Variety, shared on Oct. 12, Fraser shared his thoughts on why the reboot didn't have the same appeal as his franchise.

“It is hard to make that movie,” the actor said. “The ingredient that we had going for our ‘Mummy,’ which I didn’t see in that film, was fun. That was what was lacking in that incarnation.”

“It was too much of a straight-ahead horror movie. ‘The Mummy’ should be a thrill ride, but not terrifying and scary,” Fraser continued. “I know how difficult it is to pull it off.”

Adding, “I tried to do it three times.”

The Cruise-led movie had a more serious tone than Fraser’s lighthearted action-adventure films and earned generally negative reviews from critics. The 2017 movie also failed to bring in the box office numbers it hoped to launch a new franchise, per Deadline.

Fraser’s franchise also paved the way for Dwayne Johnson’s “The Scorpion King” films after the former wrestler portrayed the Scorpion King in “The Mummy Returns.”

Johnson recently thanked Fraser — who has been earning critical acclaim for his latest film “The Whale” — for supporting him early in his career.

“Man this makes me so happy to see this beautiful ovation for Brendan. He supported me coming into his ‘Mummy Returns’ franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career,” Johnson tweeted alongside a video of an emotional Fraser getting a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival in September. “Rooting for all your success brother and congrats to my bud Darren Aronofsky. #TheWhale.”

As for Fraser, the actor was asked if he would be up for reprising his role in a fourth “The Mummy” film, to which he replied, “I don’t know how it would work.”

“But I’d be open to it if someone came up with the right conceit,” he said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com