There are a few reasons why The Mummy 4 hasn’t been released yet. The Mummy Returns and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, to start, did not earn the same positive reviews as the original film. Due to their greater production costs and unfavorable reviews, both films had mediocre box office results, which caused the franchise to plateau a little. Universal Pictures made the decision to revive the Mummy brand after The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor earned a 13% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and made $400 million worldwide on a $145 million budget.

In 2017, The Mummy was released, a reboot starring Tom Cruise that was set to kickstart Universal’s so-called Dark Universe franchise. The Mummy was just as big a critical and commercial failure as Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, essentially ending the franchise and explaining the lack of The Mummy 4. Similarly, the hiatus in Brendan Fraser’s career brought about by physical injuries and mental health problems stemming from his 𝑠e𝑥ual assault allegation against Philip Berk saw The Mummy 4 become an unlikely prospect.