The Terminator, but the Mummy is Jaws: How Brendan Fraser was pitched the 1999 The Mummy film the writer/director

When Stephen Sommers wrote The Mummy, he had a simple idea – make one of the most insane action movies Hollywood has ever seen. The 1999 action-adventure film is fondly remembered for its elaborate set pieces, goofy action, and the unstoppable villain.

In fact, according to The Mummy lead actor Brendan Fraser, that was one of the selling points of the movie. According to Fraser, Sommers had a fun and interesting way of describing the reanimated mummy.

“[Director Stephen Sommers] was like, ‘It’s going to be like the Terminator, but the Mummy is like Jaws. He’s a shark. He won’t quit,’” Brendan Fraser says during a Mummy spotlight panel at Emerald City Comic Con 2022. “And I’m like, ‘A Terminator shark? That’s kind of cool. I think they already made that movie dude.’ The script was great. And he would be like, ‘Well, the good thing is that the director is also the writer, so we just completely cut out the middle man.’”

For more on The Mummy, watch the full Emerald City Comic Con panel below: