Russian film critic David Schneiderov criticized the practice of endlessly extending successful movie franchises, speaking on air with the National News Service (NSN), after American actor Brendan Fraser announced the start of filming for a new installment of "The Mummy."
Fraser said production began on September 7, 2026, with him reprising his role as adventurer Rick O'Connell. Rachel Weisz is returning alongside him as his on-screen wife, Evelyn. The original "Mummy" film, released in 1999, starred Fraser and Weisz and went on to spawn several sequels and spin-offs.
Franchise fatigue
Schneiderov said he had grown tired of the franchise. He raised the question of whether the new Mummy film would make it to Russian cinemas, adding that its release would please Russian audiences who have been waiting to see it.
He said franchises were often exploited by producers once the first installment proved successful, with each new entry simply following the same formula because audiences keep watching. He said he personally wanted to see something new, saying he had grown weary of "Pirates of the Caribbean 258" and "Avatar 456," exaggerated numbers he used to illustrate his point about endless sequels.
Schneiderov argued that franchises should be allowed to end at some point, since continuing them only leads to constant self-repetition, and that every franchise eventually dies out. He said audiences still turn up out of habit. He quoted Russian rock musician Sergei Chigrakov, frontman of the band Chizh & Co, as saying there is no need to invent new hits when there are already well-worn old ones, adding that film producers often followed the same principle.
Other critics weigh in
Blogger and film critic Evgeny Bazhenov, known as BadComedian, earlier told NSN that a sequel to the film "Zakulisye Realnosti" could turn out to be more interesting than the original, given the number of directions its plot could take.
