What was the original ending of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy?

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I’m really enjoying Lee Cronin’s The Mummy – it’s a genuinely scary movie and people seem to agree, it’s doing great in theaters! But apparently, the ending we all saw wasn’t the one originally planned. I’m so curious to know what the first ending was supposed to be for The Mummy!

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What was the original ending of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy?

The film’s initial ending, which remains in the final cut, shows the father, Charlie Cannon (Jack Reynor), swapping places with his deceased teenage daughter, who is mummified. While this resolves one issue, it leaves his wife, Larissa (Laia Costa), and their other two children without a husband and father, creating a very bleak conclusion. Test audiences didn’t respond well to this, so the filmmakers revised the ending to be more hopeful.

Jack Reynor described his character’s final act as a complex one. On one level, it’s a completely selfless sacrifice – the father gives his life to save his daughter, essentially becoming the mummy in her place, demonstrating his love for her. However, Reynor also considered a darker interpretation: the character had struggled with being a father for years, and his sacrifice offered him a release from those burdens. Reynor found it interesting to play with the idea that becoming the mummy was, for him, a way to escape his family responsibilities, and while audiences may not pick up on that nuance, it was a key element of his performance.

When the filmmakers chose a different ending, he responded by saying he understood their reasoning. They likely wanted to give the audience a satisfying conclusion, and he respected that. While he personally preferred the original ending by Lee, he could also see why the new ending might be better received, especially by younger viewers who might not appreciate a very dark conclusion. He acknowledged that there were valid points on both sides and could appreciate the strengths of each ending depending on the perspective.

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2026-04-28 14:23