Ardeth Bay is returning in The Mummy 4, as is his original actor Oded Fehr, who gave fans a sneak peek at what the character looks like after all these years.
Brendan Fraser and co. are making their long-awaited return in the fourth installment of The Mummy franchise, the first in nearly 20 years. Fraser’s Rick O’Connell and Rachel Weisz’s Evelyn Carnahan were already confirmed to bring the series’ jaunty, humorous action back to the silver screen, as was John Hannah as Carnahan’s brother.
The last of these casting announcements surfaced in March 2026; as of August, another big player is confirmed to re-join the crew, and he’s one with whom longtime fans will certainly be familiar.
Oded Fehr is making his grand return to The Mummy 4 as Ardeth Bay, who previously appeared in the original Mummy film as well as The Mummy Returns in 2001. He was notably absent from 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, saying that without Imhotep as the big baddie, his character wouldn’t have any reason to appear.
It seems that Imhotep may have risen again, as Fehr has confirmed that he is involved in the new movie and even showed off a glimpse at what Ardeth Bay looks like eighteen years after the last film.
He shared the update in a post on his personal Instagram account on August 4, showing a clip of Ardeth in the original movie that then transitions to an image of fifty-five-year-old Fehr sitting in a makeup chair. Sporting a short haircut, a neat beard, and his signature facial tattoos, the now-silver Ardeth Bay looks as dashing as ever, and fans didn’t hesitate to express their excitement at his return.
Given his staunch dedication to Bay’s character and his refusal to return to the franchise if things didn’t make sense for him, it could be possible that Imhotep is also playing a significant role in the events of The Mummy 4. For now, its plot is still under wraps, but it has already received a release date for October 15, 2027.
Fraser has been tight-lipped about the events of the movie, fearing he might spoil things, but told audiences on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that he was “doing my best to get this 57-year-old gear in shape.”
“I was hopeful for a long while, and then I was like, ‘No, I don’t know if they are,’ you know. Other Mummy movies got made and…” he said of the project. “But anyway, look, what we’re going to do is saddle back up, go back to the locations… I should probably stop talking like this because I don’t want to give everything away.”
Image Credits: Gerardo Mora/Getty Images
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