The Mummy franchise has captivated horror fanatics for decades, from its initial 1932 version by Universal Pictures to its far more popular 1999 version and sequels.
Yet the cinematic depiction of Western archaeologists disturbing the tomb of an ancient Egyptian mummy and inadvertently resurrecting it into a monster would seldom have an accurate representation of Egyptians.
These films would regularly depict Egypt stereotypically, have non-Egyptians, non-North African, and non-Arabs play Egyptian and Arab characters, have no Egyptian or North African creators, and overall present an Orientalist playground for audiences to enjoy.
Perhaps there was hope for the franchise to be more culturally accurate with the Algerian and North African actress Sofia Boutella playing the titular Mummy in the 2017 film. However, it fared a critical response without meaningfully pushing representation forward on screen.
But that’s not stopping Hollywood from trying again to reboot the franchise, now with Irish horror director Lee Cronin writing and directing a new The Mummy film for New Line.
Many understand these films as problematic-of-their-time frisks that don’t need to be an emulation or continuation. But should we be hopeful that Cronin might surprise us, and make a fun horror film that is more culturally accurate towards Egyptians and Egyptian history?
Egyptian-American actor Ali Nasser believes these films can have good representation, noting that a culturally accurate Egyptian archaeologist would be an ideal character for this film.
“In Egyptian culture, archaeology is a prerequisite,” he says. “When you visit these ancient sites, you always need to have an Egyptian archaeologist with you in these digs. There’s always representation there, someone who is very familiar with the culture, very familiar with ancient Egyptian culture, but also someone who knows their way around the digs.”
While this could have been the case with Rachel Weisz’s character Evie Hammond, Ali notes how odd it was that you wouldn’t know she was Egyptian until she said it.
“I never see or hear her speaking Arabic. As you look into it a little bit closer, it strikes you as odd.”
As for why a new The Mummy film is being made, Ali has a straightforward answer. “Brand recognition — people have such a strong affinity for The Mummy brand.”
Nadia Osman, an Egyptian-American writer based in Los Angeles, concurs.
“I think a reboot is happening because right now, Hollywood in general as an industry, or the entertainment industry as a whole, is looking for reliable intellectual property that they can continue to mine. It’s why we see Disney continue to make live-action remakes. They already own their specific version of this intellectual property.”
Additionally, Nadia notes that horror is good for business in Hollywood, and that making a new The Mummy film is a no-brainer for executives.
“Horror has proven to be something that will always bring an audience to theatres. Not only because there is a huge fan base for it, but it is easier to distribute internationally compared to, say, comedy, which is incredibly subjective.”
Like Ali, Nadia enjoyed 1999’s The Mummy, recognising its scant representation and role as a “problematic fave” for Egyptian viewers, like Disney’s 1992 Aladdin, also replete with Orientalism.
“I think for a lot of us, because it’s one of the very, very few pieces of media that we could point to and say this person may, in some way look like me or my relatives,” she says.
“Similarly with The Mummy, where it’s in the home country, it’s that kind of thing. As I’ve become older, and obviously, not just more educated, but caring more about it while also being in the industry, I see how, ‘Yes, this is a fun action-adventure flick,” Nadia adds.
“However, is it something we need to continue repeating in this same manner? I don’t know if that is the best answer to Hollywood’s problems right now.”
As for more positive representations of Egypt in recent years the film could draw from, Nadia points to Marvel’s Moon Knight as a “great example” for new depictions of Egypt in fantasy fiction.
“That was inclusive as far as that cast and crew go — it really showed sides of Cairo that I don’t think we would get to see in an American or Western-based programme. And so, if [The Mummy] is going to take place in modern times, I would love to see that.”
Moon Knight certainly achieved a fantastical depiction of Egypt that had Egyptians, such as May Calamawy’s Layla El-Faouly character be fully culturally resonant. It depicted its setting, both ancient and modern, in a beautiful way without the Orientalist yellow filter.
But of course, Egyptian director Mohamed Diab headlined the project, giving it that cultural distinction. It remains to be seen if Cronin will at least consult Egyptians in this new iteration.
Nadia elaborates on what she would like to see in the new The Mummy film if it continues to be set in Egypt.
“I would love it if they avoided the yellow tint over the film to make it seem hazy and in the desert and that they stay away from Bedouin tropes and stereotypes. They need to make sure that even if they decide to make the protagonist non-Arab, everyone else involved is Arab and doesn’t become ‘othered’. Essentially, there is a version of this film where we don’t even need white people.”
Ali points to another project in recent years, Netflix’s Paranormal, based on the novels by Egyptian author Ahmed Khaled Tawfik, as a stellar example of supernatural Egyptian representation to emulate.
“One of the cool things about it is that not only did it tap into foreign paranormal events, but it also tapped into local Egyptian culture. There was an episode that dealt with Al Nadaha, for example.”
This is a far cry from The Mummy series, which often made up its own takes on Egyptology and ancient Egyptian history for story effect. Take the ‘City of the Dead’ Hamunaptra, it never existed in any historical record or myth, nor did the god Anubis have anything to do with scorpions as was portrayed in The Mummy Returns.
Adapting works by actual Egyptians like Paranormal would be an easy way for Hollywood to create supernatural stories more accurately steeped in Egypt’s culture, mythology, and history.
Nadia also recognises the deep history of imperialism in Egypt and its continuing effects in the region today could clearly present Cronin and his cohorts with a story worth telling.
“Can we talk about how it’s kind of messed up that Britain just took over an entire country and did their whole, “From no matter where the sun is shining, there’s the part of the British Empire” nonsense? Can we talk about if we want to do it in the modern day? Can we talk about how American imperialism has really messed up the Middle East?” Nadia questions.
“Why are they doing it? What does it serve in the story? Who are the characters that are learning the lesson from it? And so, there’s a part of me, because I’m a pragmatist about these things, that goes is there an opportunity available to us? Is there an opportunity to really illustrate that underlying message that when you f*** around, you find out? And so, let’s make it an anti-imperialist film.”
While The Mummy is systemically replete in Orientalism since its inception, perhaps it is not unsalvageable from its problematic past, as arguably other Orientalist franchises like Indiana Jones are.
Perhaps there is ample opportunity for a new, culturally accurate and resonant retelling. Perhaps Cronin has and will take a critical look at the franchise and aim to steer it into something better while remaining a fun romp for audiences.
At the very least, the new film provides a key opportunity for Egyptians to lead in front of the camera, as Ali elaborates further: “If it were to be set in Egypt, my absolute hope with that is that at least one of the lead characters would be Egyptian and that it would be sort of more rooted in Egyptian culture, as opposed to inventing its own mythology.”
Ali also notes that the new version of the film offers his home country economic opportunities in hosting the production. Previous films in the franchise were shot outside of Egypt, and Ali implores New Line and Cronin to shoot in Egypt this time, with Egyptian archaeologists subsequently being involved in the production.
“Egypt has been trying to attract more foreign productions in the country to some middling success, but they have been incentivising more Hollywood productions to shoot in Egypt,” Ali explains.
“I hope that this will be an opportunity for them to come and shoot in Egypt; that they would use the resources available to them while being in the real life locations and temples close to the pyramids and other historical sites. Furthermore, I hope they utilise the full cooperation of the Ministry of Antiquities, as well as a whole team of archaeologists and Egyptologists.”
Despite the previous problematic storytelling of The Mummy and other films in its overall genre of Orientalist action-adventure and horror, there remains distinct room for improvement.
In showcasing Egyptian characters and Egypt in a positive setting, critiquing Western imperialism and reckless excavations, it may yet showcase a supernatural horror story with something meaningful to say, as Ali, Nadia, and other Egyptians hope.
We will have to wait and see if Lee Cronin and New Line receive and act on the message.
Swara Salih is a writer and podcaster who writes for several outlets, including The Nerds of Color, But Why Tho?, and Nerdist. He co-hosts The Middle Geeks podcast, which covers all things SWANA/MENA representation
Follow him on BlueSky:@spiderswarz.bsky.social
