The Mummy is one of the most beloved 90s action-adventure movies and arguably a genre-defining title. The movie stars Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell, a rugged adventurer. He meets Evelyn (Rachel Weisz), and the pair travel to the mysterious lost city of Hamunaptra, with Evelyn’s brother, Jonathan (John Hannah), along for the ride. As the movie’s title implies, they unwittingly awaken an ancient, cursed mummy who threatens to destroy the world.
Many fans regard the 1999 movie as a timeless masterpiece. It blends an adventure story with fantasy elements, and the chemistry between Fraser and Weisz is exceptional. The Mummy also has a few scary scenes and plenty of lighthearted moments. It’s a combination that has survived the test of time, and The Mummy Returns makes an admirable second attempt at catching lightning in a bottle.
Naturally, fans of The Mummy are eagerly awaiting The Mummy 4, especially with Fraser and Weisz reprising their roles. However, picking movies to watch in the meantime is surprisingly difficult. The Mummy is adored because it’s so much more than a regular fantasy adventure movie. There’s arguably nothing quite like The Mummy or The Mummy Returns, though some movies do share the franchise’s best qualities.
The films on this list aren’t carbon copies of The Mummy, though they all share aspects that fans will appreciate. Audiences worldwide are hoping The Mummy 4 revisits what made the originals such classics, and here’s a selection of movies that will feel familiar in all the right ways.
10
The Golden Child (1986)
The Golden Child is a fantasy-action movie with a contemporary setting starring Eddie Murphy as Chandler Jarrell. He’s a private detective specializing in missing-children cases and is tasked with locating a boy with mysterious powers.
Naturally, Jarrell is skeptical and refuses even to acknowledge the supernatural until it’s too obvious to ignore. He teams up with Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis) on a globe-trotting adventure, and the pair start to form a bond despite their differences.
The Golden Child has some laugh-out-loud moments and a great villain in Sardo Numspa, played by Charles Dance. Much of the movie is set in Tibet, which is quite different from Egypt, but there are many similarities to The Mummy.
9
The Rundown (2003)
The Rundown leans more heavily into comedy than The Mummy, but boasts a charismatic cast on a wild adventure all the same. The movie stars Dwayne Johnson as Beck. He works for a crime boss, but is looking for a way out. He agrees to locate Travis (Seann William Scott) as his final job.
The issue is that Travis is in the Amazon Rainforest and refuses to comply until he finds a mysterious, priceless artifact called the Gato. Travis’ plan draws attention from all the wrong people, and he’s forced to form an uneasy alliance with Beck.
The story of The Rundown is more grounded than The Mummy, as there is no supernatural villain. Nevertheless, both titles share lighthearted moments and a great cast.
8
Hidalgo (2004)
Hidalgo claims to be based on a true story, so it has a more grounded plot without the supernatural elements. Still, the movie offers an intense action adventure in the desert, where the environment is just as deadly as any villain.
The movie stars Viggo Mortensen as Frank Hopkins. He’s a horse racer past his prime but agrees to participate in a particularly grueling event for a huge prize. That event is aptly named the Ocean of Fire, and is a brutal endurance event spanning thousands of miles. Hopkins enters the event on his horse, Hidalgo, despite the dangers.
Hidalgo offers an intense desert adventure far grander than any typical horse race. The movie is more realistic than The Mummy thanks to its grounded roots, and Mortensen is a relatable protagonist.
7
The Road To El Dorado (2000)
The Road to El Dorado may seem like a strange recommendation as it’s an animated movie. Nevertheless, it has plenty in common with The Mummy, including a treasure hunt and a mythical city of untold riches.
Tulio and Miguel are two conmen who obtain a map to El Dorado. They travel across the ocean to find it, but end up on a small island where the villagers believe they are gods. The story gets extraordinarily tense as their elaborate ruse becomes harder to maintain.
The Road to El Dorado makes the list for its fantasy treasure hunt and fun characters, who deliver many quotable one-liners. If you’re open to an animated movie while waiting for The Mummy 4, the 2000 film captures the magic of a fast-paced fantasy adventure with a busy treasure hunt story.
6
The Goonies (1985)
The Goonies predates the original Brendan Fraser Mummy movie by more than a decade, but there are many obvious similarities between the two. The 80s movie follows a group of kids from the Goon Docks, and one of them, Mikey, has found a treasure map in his attic.
The map presumably belonged to One-Eyed Willy, a legendary pirate, and shows the location of his treasure. The Goonies embark on an adventure into a cave system littered with traps. They also encounter a scary family called the Fratellis who make their treasure hunt much more dangerous.
The Goonies is a classic and arguably one of the best kids’ movies set in the 80s. Some scenes may be scary for a younger audience, but the film offers something for all ages.
5
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is the newest movie on this list, and leans heavily into fantasy. The setting is different from The Mummy, but the movie makes the list for its lighthearted adventure and quippy humor.
The movie stars Chris Pine as Edgin. He’s a bard and former thief on a quest to rescue his daughter and retrieve a magical artifact. He cannot do it alone and assembles a motley crew, similar to a D&D party, for help. However, the group faces a powerful adversary, as Sofina (Daisy Head), a sorceress, stands in their way.
The setting of Honor Among Thieves is more heavily fantasy than The Mummy, but our heroes are charming, and both movies share a similar tone and snappy humor.
4
The Lost City Of Z (2016)
The Lost City of Z is one of the most grounded movies on this list, starring Charlie Hunnam as Percy Fawcett. He’s an intrepid explorer, and, like The Mummy, the film has a mythical city at the heart of the story.
Fawcett is in the Amazon Rainforest after discovering clues suggesting an ancient, advanced civilization once existed there. His exploration quickly becomes an obsession, as Fawcett becomes hellbent on proving his theories, no matter what stands in his way.
Fans of the upcoming Mummy 4 will find a lot to love in The Lost City of Z as it brings such a fantastical quest into the real world. The movie also explores the human cost of Fawcett’s research in such an unforgiving environment.
3
Big Trouble In Little China (1986)
Big Trouble in Little China is eerily similar to The Mummy, even if it’s not set in Egypt. Kurt Russell stars as Jack Burton. He’s a trucker unwillingly dragged into a supernatural conflict when he witnesses his best friend’s fiancée get kidnapped by a street gang.
Burton and Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) scramble to rescue Miao Yin (Suzee Pai) but discover that she has been taken by David Lo Pan (James Hong), an ancient sorcerer. Their adventure takes them underground, where they face magic, mystery, and supernatural foes.
Jack Burton is arguably one of Kurt Russell’s most memorable characters, responsible for countless quotable one-liners. He acts like he’s the main character in an adventure story even though he wouldn’t survive long without the help of his friends.
2
Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)
We could make a strong case to include any of the original Indiana Jones movies on this list. Raiders of the Lost Ark is remarkable because it feels like a precursor to The Mummy. Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones, a professor and archaeologist on a quest to locate the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis.
Jones’ adventure takes him into the desert as he follows clues that bring him closer to the legendary artifact. However, he’s also competing with Belloq (Paul Freeman), a rival archaeologist backed by soldiers.
Raiders of the Lost Ark has fantasy elements and some scary moments, much like The Mummy movies. It’s easy to see inspiration from Indiana Jones in the 1999 title, and if you enjoy Raiders of the Lost Ark, you’ll likely enjoy the entire original trilogy.
1
Jungle Cruise (2021)
While Indiana Jones is like a precursor to The Mummy, Jungle Cruise feels like a homage to Brendan Fraser’s films. Dwayne Johnson stars as Frank Wolff. He’s a skilled outdoorsman with a riverboat on the Amazon River, though he makes a living selling cheap thrills to tourists.
Lily (Emily Blunt) seeks out Frank, asking for passage deep into the rainforest in search of a mystical item. However, they both get more than they bargained for when they realize they aren’t the only ones after it.
Jungle Cruise is a great candidate for a movie night if you cannot wait for The Mummy 4. Johnson and Blunt have great chemistry, and they even encounter supernatural foes during their adventure. The movie is also special for theme park fans, as it’s based on a Disney ride of the same name.
- Release Date
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May 19, 2028
- Director
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Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
- Writers
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David Coggeshall
- Producers
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James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein, Sean Daniel, William Sherak
- Franchise(s)
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The Mummy
