TL;DR: If you’re expecting Brendan Fraser, a wise-cracking sidekick, and some lighthearted tomb-raiding, close the tab now. Lee Cronin's The Mummy (2026) is a full-blown Blumhouse horror nightmare. It’s less "Indiana Jones" and more "Possessed Child." With a release date of April 17, 2026, the trailers are already hitting social media with some pretty intense body horror. This is strictly for the 16+ crowd.
We’ve all been there—you see a title like The Mummy and your brain immediately goes to the 1999 classic. You think of The Mummy (1999), Rick O'Connell’s perfect hair, and a movie that was basically the definition of "family adventure night."
But it’s 2026, and the "Dark Universe" is dead. In its place, we have something much darker. Universal and Blumhouse have handed the keys to Lee Cronin (the guy who gave us the absolute gore-fest that was Evil Dead Rise), and he has stripped away every ounce of fun to create a psychological horror film that will likely have kids—and some adults—sleeping with the lights on.
This isn't a remake of the 1999 movie or even the 2017 Tom Cruise version. It’s a "standalone reimagining."
The plot follows a journalist (played by Jack Reynor) whose young daughter, Katie, disappears in the desert. Eight years later, she suddenly returns to the family. But she hasn't just "grown up." She was found in a sarcophagus, her body is physically "wrong," and she appears to be carrying an ancient Egyptian entity that wants to turn her family home into a living hell.
Director Lee Cronin has described it as "one part Poltergeist and one part Seven." Translation: It’s a domestic nightmare involving a "creepy kid" trope, except the kid is a literal reanimated mummy spirit.
If your kids are on TikTok or YouTube, they have likely already seen the teaser. It’s only 60 seconds long, but it features:
- Physical deformations and "body horror" (think skin-crawling textures).
- A scene involving a spider crawling out of a mouth (a classic Cronin move).
- Intense psychological dread.
Because it’s a "Mummy" movie, kids who grew up with Hotel Transylvania or even the older Scooby-Doo episodes might think this is "their" kind of monster movie. It is not.
Ask our chatbot for a list of "safe" monster movies for younger kids
To make things more confusing for parents, there are actually two Mummy projects in the news right now.
- The Horror Reboot: This 2026 film from Blumhouse/Warner Bros.
- The Legacy Sequel: Rumors (and some confirmation) that Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are returning for The Mummy 4 at Universal.
Your kids might hear "A new Mummy movie is coming out!" and think they’re getting the fun one. If they go to the theater on April 17 expecting a swashbuckling adventure, they are going to be traumatized by a movie that is being compared to The Substance in terms of "vile" content.
Ages 0-12: Hard No
Even the trailer is too much for this age group. The imagery of a missing child returning as a monster is a deep-seated fear that can cause genuine sleep issues. If they see the "mummy girl" on their FYP, it’s a good time to talk about how movie makeup and CGI work.
Ages 13-15: Use Caution
This depends entirely on your teen’s "horror threshold." If they handled Stranger Things or Five Nights at Freddy's (movie) easily, they might still find this too intense. This is "R-rated" territory in spirit, even if the final cut squeaks by with a hard PG-13.
Ages 16+: The Target Audience
For older teens who are fans of the "elevated horror" trend (movies like M3GAN or Talk to Me), this will be the big event of the spring.
The biggest risk right now isn't the movie itself—it's the "Jump Scare Trailers."
Horror marketing in 2026 is aggressive. Studios often pay for "unskippable" ads on YouTube that feature the biggest scares from the film. If your child is watching Minecraft tutorials, they might suddenly be hit with a 15-second clip of a mummified girl screaming into the camera.
Pro-tip: If you have younger kids, this is a great week to ensure YouTube Kids is being used instead of the main app, as the main app's ad-targeting can be notoriously "brain rot" adjacent when it comes to horror trailers.
- It’s a "Trauma Horror" film: The movie uses the grief of a missing child as its core engine. This can be heavy for kids who are sensitive to family-separation themes.
- The Gore Factor: Lee Cronin doesn't do "off-camera" violence. Expect blood, bone-snapping sounds, and intense "possession" acting.
- Cultural Authenticity: On a positive note, the film features a heavily Egyptian cast and Arabic language, which is a massive step up from the "Hollywood-ized" versions of the past.
Check out our guide on how to talk to kids about scary trailers
The Mummy (2026) is a "rebranding" of a classic monster into a modern horror icon. It’s a Blumhouse production through and through—meaning it’s designed to provoke a visceral, "get out of your seat" reaction.
If your family loves the 1999 version, keep that as a cozy home-watch. Do not take the kids to the theater for this one unless they are seasoned horror veterans.
Next Steps:
- Check the Feed: If your teen is talking about "the girl in the tomb," they’ve seen the trailer. Ask them what they thought.
- Verify the Title: Make sure they aren't confusing this with the other Mummy project (the Brendan Fraser sequel) which is still a ways off.
- Set Boundaries: If you have younger kids, consider an "ad-blocker" or stricter YouTube permissions for the next few months while the marketing campaign is at its peak.
Learn more about the history of The Mummy in film and what's appropriate for each age