Why are there no Egyptian actors in the new one?
I’m probably going to be a lone voice here… But the fact that we’re in the year of our lord 2026 and we’re about to get a lega-sequel to The Mummy and there’s still not a single Egyptian cast member announced in this movie is a travesty. Even the one new cast member announced so far (Numan Acar) is Turkish. And this isn’t new for this franchise… it’s repeating its own original sin. Ardeth Bay, Imhotep, Anck-su-namun: none of the “Egyptian” leads in the previous films were played by Egyptian actors either.
As an Egyptian myself, I love the first film just on the merits of being a fun swashbuckling action adventure and a great intro to ancient Egyptian mythology and civilization for the uninitiated (I know many friends who became archaeologists and Egyptologists because of this movie). But it also leans on some genuinely dated, ugly stereotypes about Egyptians and Arabs (It’s not just a casting footnote, the writing has a problem too.) Even the one cool Egyptian character is played by an Israeli actor. This could have been a nice opportunity to course correct and introduce fresh faces to a global franchise and rectify the racism of the first film, either by having an actual Egyptian play a new mummy or even have new Egyptian characters joining forces with the O’Connells. But nope, let’s resurrect dead characters instead and make it a reunion tour for the original cast because that’s what fans are clamoring for.
For all its faults, at least Lee Cronin’s The Mummy cast a couple of Egyptian actors (May Calamawy, May Elghety) and tried to be authentic with its representation. And as we take two steps forward in terms of representation, it feels as though this film is taking us a thousand steps back. Representation on every front of Hollywood seems to have gotten better except for actors of North African/Arab heritage. Debates around casting get loud fast when it’s other groups being erased, but it’s crickets when it comes to Egyptians or Arabs (look no further than Exodus God & Kings, Gods of Egypt, or even X-Men Apocalypse). Probably Moon Knight was the only one that got it right.
Apologies for the rant, but I’m tired of this erasure and hoping there’s still time for the production to fix this oversight.