Arnold Vosloo Confirms Imhotep Returns in The Mummy: Book of the Dead

Morning News · Thursday 12 November 2026

Arnold Vosloo has confirmed he is back as Imhotep in The Mummy: Book of the Dead, his first time in the role in 25 years, and he is heading to London to join Brendan Fraser on set. Also this morning: Mara Jade returns in a new Star Wars audiobook, Chucky’s creator is developing the killer doll’s next film, Behind the Mask II starts shooting, Curzon brings Jodie Comer’s horror musical Stuffed to UK cinemas, Blumhouse Atomic dates Play House, and Ari Aster’s Scapegoat adds six to its cast.

AI artwork of a torchlit ancient Egyptian tomb with an open golden sarcophagus, sand rising from it, and a large book open on a stone altar — AI Artwork

The News That Matters

Arnold Vosloo confirms Imhotep is back for The Mummy: Book of the Dead

AI artwork of an ancient book glowing with golden smoke on a stone plinth inside a torchlit Egyptian temple — AI Artwork

What’s new: Arnold Vosloo has signed to play the high priest Imhotep again, his first time in the role since The Mummy Returns in 2001. He confirmed it on Jack Carr’s Danger Close podcast, FANGORIA reported
What he said: Vosloo said Brendan Fraser and the cast are already shooting in London, that he heads there this month, and that the script is “very good”. He also gave away the first plot hint: someone reads from the Book of the Dead and brings Imhotep back to life
Who’s making it: Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) direct. Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Oded Fehr and Kevin J. O’Connor also return, and the film is a direct sequel to The Mummy Returns
UK availability: UK date not yet confirmed. It opens in US cinemas on 15 October 2027

The O’Connells were never quite complete without their nemesis, and the plot hint suggests the film is happy to play the original’s greatest hits, which is exactly what fans want. We first reported on the cast taking shape in our 17 October brief.

Mara Jade returns as Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars: Choices of One gets a new unabridged audiobook

AI artwork of a hooded figure holding a glowing magenta energy blade on a starship hangar ramp, with a starfield beyond the open doors — AI Artwork

What’s new: Lucasfilm’s Essential Legends Collection is releasing an unabridged audiobook of Choices of One, Timothy Zahn’s 2011 Legends novel, on 24 November, CBR and TheForce.net reported
The story: Set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, it brings Mara Jade, still the Emperor’s Hand, into the orbit of Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca. Marc Thompson narrates, and it runs 15 hours and 38 minutes
Why it matters: Mara Jade has been out of canon since Disney reset the timeline in 2014, so a fresh release keeps one of the most popular Legends characters in front of fans
UK availability: Released on 24 November in the US; UK date not yet confirmed

It is not a return to canon, but Lucasfilm keeps finding new ways to bring Legends back to fans. For more from the galaxy far, far away, five Star Wars films have just arrived in 3D on Disney+, and Adam Driver has closed the door on Kylo Ren.

Chucky creator Don Mancini moves agency to develop the next Chucky film

AI artwork of a dark toy storeroom with shelves of dolls and an open empty cardboard box lit by a shaft of moonlight — AI Artwork

What’s new: Don Mancini, who created Chucky in 1988’s Child’s Play and has written every film in his series, has signed with Independent Artist Group, where he will focus on developing the next Chucky film alongside new original film and TV projects, Deadline reported
The plan: Bloody Disgusting adds that Mancini is set to write and direct the new film, which is aimed at cinemas, would keep the continuity of the films and the three-season Chucky TV series, and aims to make the killer doll scary again
Why it matters: Chucky has not had a cinema release since Seed of Chucky in 2004. No studio, cast or date has been announced
UK availability: UK date not yet confirmed

Mancini has protected his doll’s continuity for nearly four decades, so a big-screen return in his hands is the version fans have been waiting for.

Behind the Mask II starts filming 20 years after the original slasher

AI artwork of an old farmhouse at dusk in an autumn orchard, with a film camera on a tripod in the foreground — AI Artwork

What’s new: Cameras are rolling in Illinois on Behind the Mask II: The Return of Leslie Vernon, the crowdfunded sequel to the 2006 cult meta-slasher, CBR and Dread Central reported
Who’s in it: Nathan Baesel returns as would-be slasher Leslie Vernon, with Angela Goethals as Taylor Gentry, Ben Pace as Doug and Robert Englund as Doc Halloran, who is expected to have a bigger part this time. Terrifier’s David Howard Thornton has a key role
Who’s making it: Scott Glosserman directs again from a script by David J. Stieve, with Paper Street Pictures producing
UK availability: No release date yet; UK date not yet confirmed

The original was a clever dissection of slasher rules long before it was fashionable, and having Englund back is a gift. Our definitive horror guide has more slashers to stream in the meantime.

Curzon brings Jodie Comer’s body horror musical Stuffed to UK cinemas

AI artwork of a candlelit taxidermy workshop with a stuffed fox, birds under glass domes, a red rose and a gramophone — AI Artwork

What’s new: Curzon has bought Stuffed, UK filmmaker Theo Rhys’s debut feature, for the UK and Ireland after its world premiere opened the Discovery section at Toronto, Screen International reported
The story: Jodie Comer plays Araminta, a reclusive taxidermist who advertises for the perfect human specimen to stuff, and Harry Melling plays Bernie, a lonely factory worker who answers because he fears leaving no legacy. As their macabre plan takes shape, a romance grows between them
Who’s making it: Joss Holden-Rea co-wrote the script and composed the songs. It grows out of Rhys’s BAFTA-nominated short of the same name and was developed by the BFI
UK availability: Coming to UK and Irish cinemas through Curzon; UK date not yet confirmed

A British taxidermy romance with songs is about as distinctive as horror gets this year, and Comer and Melling are a pairing worth the ticket on their own.

Blumhouse Atomic’s children’s TV horror Play House is dated for April 2027

AI artwork of a brightly painted children's TV playhouse set on an empty dark soundstage, with a studio camera beside it — AI Artwork

What’s new: Focus Features and Blumhouse Atomic will release Play House, Nicolas Curcio’s debut horror film about a mysterious children’s TV show, in US cinemas on 2 April 2027, Focus Features announced
Who’s making it: The micro-budget film won Fantastic Pitches and comes from the same partnership behind Obsession. Curcio directs and co-wrote it with Kirby Gladstein
Who’s in it: Will Harrison, Jessica Sula, Jordan Gonzalez and James Urbaniak
UK availability: UK date not yet confirmed. Universal Pictures International is distributing outside the US

We reported when Play House found its cinema home last month; now it has a date. Creepy kids’ TV is a rich vein for horror, and Universal’s involvement makes a UK release likely.

Update: Ari Aster’s Scapegoat adds six to its cast

AI artwork of an empty operating theatre lit by cold blue surgical lamps, with goat skulls on a steel tray — AI Artwork

What’s new: Spenser Granese (Marty Supreme), Keen Ruffalo, Jared Abrahamson, Brock Yurich, Indiana Affleck and Finn Harry have joined Ari Aster’s new A24 thriller, Deadline reported
Already cast: Scarlett Johansson, Jacob Elordi and Jude Law lead, with Ella Purnell, Caleb Landry Jones, Samba Schutte and Cory Michael Smith, whose casting we reported in October
Who’s making it: Aster writes and directs, with Lars Knudsen producing through Square Peg. Character details and the logline are still under wraps
UK availability: UK date not yet confirmed

Aster is keeping the plot locked away, which only adds to the intrigue around one of the most talked-about casts in film right now.

Movieversalfilm Takeaway

Imhotep’s return makes The Mummy: Book of the Dead feel like a true reunion, and it is being made in London. Horror fans also have Chucky heading back towards cinemas, Leslie Vernon back behind the mask and Jodie Comer’s Stuffed on its way to UK screens.

Are you excited to see Arnold Vosloo back as Imhotep? Tell us below.

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