While they co-starred in The Mummy Returns, there’s a different legacy sequel that should reunite Brendan Fraser and Dwayne Johnson. The Mummy Returns make the literal beginning of Johnson’s movie career, with the 2001 sequel marking his big screen debut. Despite his brief screentime, his villain the Scorpion King popped so much that he starred in a spin-off movie released the following year.
Despite being labeled the next big action star, Johnson had trouble finding solid footing in the genre. After big swings like The Rundown and Doom both underperformed and Southland Tales utterly tanked, Johnson stuck to family comedies for many years. It was Johnson’s supporting turn as Hobbs in Fast Five that gave him a second wind, and he used that to sail to movie stardom with major hits such as San Andreas and his Jumanji sequels.
The Scorpion King movies continued without Johnson, with the series heading straight to DVD following the original. The star is set to produce a big screen reboot of the franchise, however, and has always acknowledged his gratitude for the opportunity The Mummy Returns offshoot gave to him. In a sweet Instagram post, he congratulated Brendan Fraser on the “beautiful” standing ovation the actor received for his performance in The Whale. Johnson stated of Fraser that “He supported me coming into his Mummy Returns franchise for my first ever role, which kicked off my Hollywood career. Rooting for all your success brother and congrats to my bud Darren Aronofsky.” Despite appearing in two of the same franchises, Fraser and Johnson have never actually worked either, but Journey 3 could change all that.
Will A Third Journey Movie Ever Happen?
While Johnson played a key villain in The Mummy Returns, but by the time Fraser’s Rick O’Connell is fighting him, the Scorpion King has turned into an awful-looking CGI monster. Fraser later admitted they only met at the sequel’s premiere. Fraser later starred in a hit 3D adaptation of Jules Verne’s Journey To The Centre Of The Earth in 2008, but for sequel Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, he was replaced by a new character played by Johnson.
The sequel adapted Verne’s The Mysterious Island, while a planned Journey 3 would be based on the author’s From The Earth To The Moon. Johnson later admitted the project had been scrapped, due to script issues and his ever-busy schedule. While the Journey movie franchise hasn’t left a large cultural footprint, both films were solid hits, with Journey 2’s grosses improving on the first entry by $100 million. Now that Johnson is one of the biggest stars in the world and Fraser is on the verge of a major comeback, a Journey 3 legacy sequel wouldn’t be the worst idea.
There’s a lot of great material still to be mined from Jules Vernes’ work, and a team-up between Fraser and Johnson in Journey 3 would definitely draw some eyeballs. While fans of The Mummy might want to see a resurrection of that particular saga, there’s little sign of movement on that front. A buddy adventure comedy pairing Fraser with one of the biggest box-offices draws in the world would only cement his comeback, and revive a potential franchise in the process.
