‘The Mummy’ Set for Cinemas in April 2026, Likely to Hit HBO Max in Late 2026

It’s been a while, but soon, fans of Ancient Egyptian mythology will be able to return to the setting. In 2026, The Mummy gets another instalment, this time being put in the hands of up-and-coming, well-regarded horror director Lee Cronin.

Promotional material for the film before the trailer hit leaned into this, showing a moon-lit background with a decrepit hand holding some kind of golden pyramid in the foreground. This is a very different take on The Mummy than the more recent entries of the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, which may not be a bad thing.

Time for a Big Return of The Mummy

Recent cinema has seen a couple of renditions of mummified ancient Egyptians coming back to life, usually in pursuit of a big, bad goal or revenge in some way. The cursed soul wreaks havoc, leading to a whole bunch of action set pieces set to the backdrop of sand dunes. Easily the most revered of the more recent entries is 1999’s The Mummy.

As shown in interviews a quarter of a decade on, the cast had a great time, and that showed on screen. The story was set in 1926, featuring archetypical intrepid explorer Rick O’Connell and inquisitive Egyptologists Evelyn and Jonathan Carnahan. When their expedition unearths and awakens Imhotep, chaos ensues.

The campy comedy, action sequences, and well-realised characters all combined to create a charming flick that inspired two sequels and a prequel, which were far less well received. Then, in 2017, Tom Cruise’s The Mummy hit theatres and was quickly swept back under the rug. A flop at the boxoffice and among critics, it killed Universal’s intended Dark Universe in one fell swoop.

Even so, the people want to explore the Ancient Egyptian setting. You can see this clearly in corners of entertainment that chase trends, like the collection of games at the slingo casino. Sitting among hit slot tie-ins like Slingo Starburst and classic slingo like Slingo Day of the Dab, Book of Slingo continues to be a huge hit thanks to its Ancient Egyptian theme. Entertainment-seekers of all kinds want to sink themselves into the iconic setting.

What We Know About the New The Mummy

There’s a lot that’s set to make 2026’s The Mummy different from the 1999-commenced series, the 2017 flop, and even the 1932 original. Off-screen, this is because it’ll be the first The Mummy movie to not come through Universal Pictures since the 1959 to 1971 Hammer Films series.

This time, it’ll be New Line Cinema, via Warner Bros. Pictures, putting out The Mummy, while Blumhouse Productions, Atomic Monsters, and Doppelgängers will be producing. Given that they put Lee Cronin in the writer’s and director’s chair, it’s bound to lean into the horror elements that The Mummy can easily imbue.

Plot details remain under wraps for now, but we do know that the film will star Jack Reynor and Laia Costa alongside Veronica Falcón, Natalie Grace, May Calamawy, Shylo Molina, and May Elghety. We also found out on June 25 that principal photography had wrapped, enabling the announcement of its release date.

As it stands, Warner Bros. Pictures will be putting The Mummy in cinemas on April 17, 2026, likely followed by a release on their streaming platform, HBO Max, in late 2026.