Michael Johnston, fresh off the low-budget horror hit Obsession, is in early talks to join the fourth installment of The Mummy, according to Variety. Universal Pictures has no comment on the potential casting.

Johnston played Bear in Obsession, a hopeless romantic who strikes a Faustian bargain to win the heart of his crush Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette. Curry Barker directed the film, which carried an R rating and a modest budget but became a box-office sensation in 2026. Johnston is also known for playing Corey Bryant in the television series Teen Wolf.

The fourth Mummy film already has its core returning cast locked. Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are officially back, reuniting on the franchise for the first time since 2001's The Mummy Returns. Weisz sat out the 2008 threequel, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor; Fraser continued without her. John Hannah, a staple of the series since the 1999 original, is also confirmed to return.

Behind the camera, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — the directing duo known as Radio Silence — are helming the project. David Coggeshall wrote the screenplay. Sean Daniel, who has produced every Mummy installment since the 1999 original launched the franchise, returns as producer alongside William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, and Paul Neinstein through their Project X Entertainment banner. Clayton Townsend also produces. Fraser adds an executive producer credit to his acting duties, joined in that role by Hivemind's Jason F. Brown.

Universal has staked out a wide theatrical release date of 15 October 2027. That positions the film firmly in the autumn corridor — a window where the franchise has historically performed well, with the 1999 original opening in early May but the 2001 sequel banking on its early-summer slot.

The Mummy franchise has grossed $1.8 billion globally across its theatrical run, spanning the Fraser-led trilogy and the 2017 Tom Cruise reboot. The fourth film signals a return to the Fraser era, bringing back the leads and at least one key supporting actor who made the original films a draw.

For Johnston, the talks represent a step up in scale. Obsession proved that a small-budget genre film with the right premise can break through; a slot in a billion-dollar franchise would place him opposite returning stars in a film backed by a major studio. Whether the talks close is another matter — early negotiations can fall apart over scheduling, salary, or creative fit. But the pipeline from a breakout horror role to a studio franchise slot is a familiar one in Hollywood, and Johnston's name is now in it.