Lee Cronin\u2019s The Mummy<\/em> wasn\u2019t our favorite mummy movie, but it did have some recommendable qualities, including its high levels of gruesome gore. We also approved of the ending, which offered a satisfying twist to the agony that came before. And while The Mummy<\/em>\u2018s test screenings were targeted by some since-debunked negative rumors (look, James Wan just wanted more snacks, that\u2019s all!), apparently those same early showings helped writer-director Cronin figure out that all-important final note for his film.<\/p>\n Star Jack Reynor talked about the original ending and the changes that were made, and we\u2019ll add one of these in case you haven\u2019t yet seen Lee Cronin\u2019s The Mummy<\/em>.<\/p>\n At the end of Lee Cronin\u2019s The Mummy<\/em>, the characters have all realized that young Katie is possessed by a ferocious demon. She was kidnapped years earlier by her friend\u2019s mother, a character the film calls \u201cthe Magician,\u201d for the sole purpose of becoming the next containment vessel for this demon over a period of years.<\/p>\n The sarcophagus and wrappings covered in ancient writing she\u2019s entombed in are meant to trap the demon as part of an obligation upheld by the Magician\u2019s family for generations upon generations.<\/p>\n The demon starts to escape when the sarcophagus is moved out of necessity from the Magician\u2019s farm. Instead of relocating safely, the sarcophagus breaks open in a plane crash, and Katie\u2014still alive, albeit mummified and barely clinging to her human soul\u2014is sent from Egypt to New Mexico to reunite with her surprised and thankful mother, father, and two siblings.<\/p>\n The bulk of Lee Cronin\u2019s The Mummy<\/em> follows the creature formerly known as Katie causing horrifying, escalating chaos, while an Egyptian detective pokes into the case overseas, and Katie\u2019s father, Charlie, played by Reynor, does his own research in a desperate attempt to figure out what\u2019s wrong with his daughter.<\/p>\n At the end of the movie, the detective comes to New Mexico and helps Charlie manipulate the demon into leaping out of Katie and into Charlie. He saves his daughter, but dooms himself.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where the movie ended originally, apparently. The version that made it into theaters has an additional scene where the Magician, who\u2019s been jailed for kidnapping Katie, gets a visit from a mummified Charlie. Again with the detective\u2019s help, the demon makes another leap between bodies\u2014this time, freeing Charlie and taking over the Magician\u2019s soul instead.<\/p>\n That was a reshoot, Reynor told the Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n \u201cWe came back and picked it up, which was cool because it was the one day where I actually got to be the Mummy. It\u2019s fun to get into the makeup and get to be part of that legacy,\u201d Reynor said, name-checking the Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee versions of the character.<\/p>\n Even beyond becoming part of horror history, though, he understood the reason for the change.<\/p>\n \u201cYou make these decisions because you want to give the audience what they want, and I understand that. Is it a better movie, objectively speaking? I don\u2019t know. I did like Lee\u2019s original ending,\u201d Reynor admitted. \u201cBut I also understand that if I went to see that movie with my teenage kids and they were bummed out because it was so fucking bleak at the end, maybe I\u2019d be [more in favor of the new ending]. So I get it both ways. I see the merits of both for different reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n The new ending is<\/em> cathartic; after all, the Magician was the one who singled Katie out for years of unimaginable torture, not to mention inflicting torment on her family. She deserves some payback other than prison time. But it also left another lingering question: what happens next?<\/p>\n The Magician was the<\/em> person in charge of handing down the knowledge of how to contain the demon to the next generation. Now that she\u2019s become its current vessel, who will be keeping an eye out? Presumably, that burden now transfers to her only surviving child\u2014a girl around Katie\u2019s age\u2014who\u2019ll have to select a new innocent victim someday and perform the same ritual once her mother\u2019s body starts to break down.<\/p>\n We probably won\u2019t get another Lee Cronin\u2019s The Mummy<\/em> to explore that further, but thinking about it too much does make the new ending a little less suffused with the gleeful spirit of revenge.<\/p>\n Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n![\"Io9](\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/09\/io9-2025-spoiler.png\")
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