New ‘The Mummy’ Remake Trailer Will Have You Cringing With Fear and Disgust

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A decaying woman wrapped in bandages in Lee Cronin's The Mummy

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While everyone waits with bated breath for the return of Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz for another adventure as Rick and Evelyn O'Connell, The Mummy is officially being unwrapped by another filmmaker. Blumhouse has just released the first teaser, images, and poster from Lee Cronin's horrifying new take on the classic monster, and, like his past work in Evil Dead Rise, it's looking downright vile. The film is believed to revolve around the disappearance of a journalist's young daughter in the desert, which turns into a waking nightmare when she's suddenly returned to them eight years later in a way none of them could've expected. Cronin's twisted vision will creep into theaters on April 17.

The teaser immediately strikes a different tone than the Fraser and Weisz adventure flicks, showing a session in which a body is unwrapped and someone is photographing their findings throughout the examination. All the while, strange chanting continues in the background that slowly gets louder and more frantic with each flash of the camera. Although footage is only shown in flashes, each shot only gets more gruesome and ominous and the chanting gives way to blood-curdling screams, setting up the release of some ancient evil. It all closes on a more comprehensive shot of the body, asking the question, "What happened to Katie" in the eight years she was missing in the desert?

Adding more eerie context to the film is a message in Morse code that Cronin shared along with the poster. "In ancient Egyptian civilization, dark spirits and visions of the dead were never an illusion," it read. "Some that passed over were gone forever, but an unlucky few were consumed by a darkness far more evil than anyone could have ever imagined. Today it begins.” Between that and the teaser, the writer-director appears to be leaning into what made his blockbuster Evil Dead resurrection so great by showing how horrifically humanity can be twisted by unnatural forces. James Wan and Jason Blum are both producing in what will be the first released project under the now-merged Blumhouse-Atomic Monster banner, with New Line Cinema also backing the film.

Lee Cronin's 'The Mummy' Is Described As a Blend of 'Poltergeist' and 'Seven'

Midsommar star Jack Reynor and Moon Knight alum May Calmawy lead The Mummy, alongside Laia Costa, Veronica Falcón, May Elghety, Natalie Grace, Shylo Molina, Billie Roy, and Hayat Kamille. They'll be thrown into a unique spin on the franchise that Cronin called a "puzzle box" in an interview with IGN. As if the chanting and the Morse code message weren't enough, he confirmed that he's leaning into the angle of "deep, hidden secrets" by twisting his love of Ancient Egyptian lore.

The Mummy is no stranger to vastly different interpretations, from the original Boris Karloff horror film in 1932 to the more romantic and sweeping Fraser-led affair and the gloomy, action-oriented Tom Cruise flop. Yet, Cronin emphasized to IGN how much his iteration completely reinvents the story, citing two surprising films that he believes it shares DNA with. "It's an insane mashup to suggest, but [this film is] almost one part Poltergeist and one part Seven, but put through my lens and the way that I like to entertain people," he added. He elaborated:

“I'm an Amblin kid, a child of Spielberg, no doubt. I was massively influenced by that. So when I talk about Poltergeist, what I mean is the domestic circumstances and the warmth of the family. And when I talk about Seven, what I mean is the dark, investigative angle and the secrets that exist behind it. And they are two aspects within two different tram lines, but two places that I love and I'm trying to bring them together in center court.”

Cronin's new take on The Mummy unravels in theaters on April 17. Check out the first teaser above and the official poster below.