Michael Johnston may be preparing to exchange one modern horror phenomenon for ancient tombs, supernatural curses and a major Hollywood adventure franchise.
The openly gay actor is reportedly in early negotiations for a significant role in Universal Pictures’ next instalment of The Mummy.
Johnston has not officially joined the cast, and Universal has declined to comment on the reported negotiations.
No information has been revealed about the character he could play or how that character would connect to the returning heroes (Deadline).
Should an agreement be reached, Johnston would appear alongside Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah.
Fraser and Weisz are officially returning as adventurer Rick O’Connell and Egyptologist Evelyn O’Connell.
Hannah will once again play Evelyn’s charming and frequently unreliable brother Jonathan Carnahan.
The actors first appeared together in the enormously popular 1999 film The Mummy.
Fraser, Weisz and Hannah returned for The Mummy Returns in 2001.
Fraser and Hannah later appeared in the 2008 sequel The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, while Maria Bello replaced Weisz as Evelyn.
The forthcoming film remains officially untitled, although it is widely being referred to as The Mummy 4.
Plot details are being kept secret, and Johnston’s potential involvement offers few clues about the direction of the story.
The film will be directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the filmmaking duo known collectively as Radio Silence.
Their previous films include Ready or Not, Scream, Scream VI and Abigail.
David Coggeshall wrote the screenplay, with longtime franchise producer Sean Daniel among the producers returning for the new chapter.
The film is currently scheduled to arrive in cinemas on October 15, 2027.
For Johnston, securing the role would continue a remarkable career breakthrough created by the success of Obsession.
The Curry Barker horror film stars Johnston as Bear, a lonely music-store employee whose wish to make his friend Nikki love him produces increasingly horrifying consequences.
The role allowed Johnston to explore entitlement, loneliness and the dangerous idea that romantic affection can be forced or deserved.
His performance helped transform the modestly produced film into one of 2026’s most unexpected theatrical successes.
Although Obsession introduced Johnston to a much wider audience, he had already been working professionally for nearly 15 years.
Many queer viewers first encountered him as Corey Bryant in MTV’s Teen Wolf.
Corey became romantically involved with Mason Hewitt, played by Khylin Rhambo, during the supernatural drama’s later seasons.
Johnston has since explained that he was not yet comfortable with his own sexuality while playing the character.
He later received thousands of messages from viewers who said the storyline helped them feel more confident or come out to their families.
Johnston has also built an extensive voice-acting career across animation, anime, films and video games.
Following the success of Obsession, he said he had reached a point where he could make more deliberate choices about the stories he wanted to tell.
One of those ambitions is to play a meaningful and intentional queer character rather than treating sexuality as the character’s entire identity.
He even suggested that he might eventually write such a project himself if the right opportunity did not appear.
There is currently no indication that Johnston’s possible role in The Mummy would be LGBTQ+.
Presenting the unknown character as queer would therefore go considerably beyond anything reported about the negotiations.
What the potential casting would represent is a major opportunity for an openly gay actor whose sudden success followed years of largely supporting and voice roles.
It would also place Johnston beside Fraser and Weisz in a franchise that remains unusually beloved more than a quarter of a century after its first adventure.
The deal may not be finished, the character remains secret and the mummy is still firmly wrapped.
For now, however, Michael Johnston appears tantalisingly close to his biggest role yet.
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