Blumhouse taps Evil Dead Rise director to helm horror film

Blumhouse continues its quest to bring classic movie monsters to life for modern audiences. To this end, it was revealed Lee Cronin, of “Evil Dead Rise” fame.is set to write and direct a remake of The Mummy , with Blumhouse producing the film for New Line Cinema.

according to Hollywood ReporterCronin’s “The Mummy” will hit theaters on April 17, 2026. Mark that on your calendar and plan accordingly, horror fans. The announcement was teased by Blumhouse on Instagram (which you can check out below), where he revealed the title page of the director’s script. “Something terrifying will be unleashed in 2026,” the caption read. In a brief statement, Cronin said:

“This will be unlike any Mummy movie you’ve ever laid eyes on. I’m digging deep into the ground to unearth something very old and very scary.”

Blumhouse is producing the film alongside James Wan’s Atomic Monster (with the two companies merging earlier this year)with Cronin’s Doppelgängers also producing. Wan, Jason Blum and John Keevil are also set to serve as producers, with Michael Clear, Judson Scott and McDara Kelleher serving as executive producers and Alaina Glastal overseeing the Atomic Monster project. Plot details are being kept under wraps (no pun intended), with casting details not confirmed at this time.

For Blumhouse, this keeps the studio in the business of classic monster hits. The studio debuted in 2020 with Lee Whannell’s “The Invisible Man,” which was a critical and commercial success. the next, Whannell handles new footage for ‘Wolf Man’ Which will be released in theaters in January 2025. Now Cronin gets the chance to put his stamp on the cool monster movie icon.

It’s something Cronin seems qualified to do as well. The director had previously revived the “Evil Dead” film series with 2023’s “Evil Dead Rise.” The property had been dormant for a decade after the release of the 2013 “Evil Dead” reboot. Cronin then came up with an entirely new cast of characters in a setting New “Rise” was a huge success, earning nearly $150 million at the box office. Since then, New Line has only put two different Evil Dead films into development. However, Cronin is not involved with either of them, as he clearly has other fish to fry.

It is worth noting that Universal tried to revive it “The Mummy” as part of an ominous dark universe 2017. Starring Tom Cruise, the big budget take on Universal Monsters failed critically and was also financially disappointing. It was bad enough to cancel plans for several other retoolings, such as Bride of Frankenstein. Blumhouse, meanwhile, has taken an approach that combines lower budgets with greater creative fluctuations, which has largely paid off so far. We’ll see if Cronin can continue this hot streak.

Look for Lee Cronin’s “The Mummy” in theaters April 17, 2026.