Coming up to the 2023 awards season, only one name was on everybody’s lips. Mounting an epic comeback befitting of its own Hollywood biopic, beloved 90s and 00s star Brendan Fraser had made a triumphant return in the purest of Oscar-bait, The Whale. In an eyebrow-raising move, while the Golden Globes nominations did feature the resurgent actor, the prize for Best Actor in a Drama went to Austin Butler for his portrayal of Elvis.
Luckily, few put as much weight on the Golden Globes as they do the Academy Awards, which is where Fraser finally landed the recognition befitting the hype. Making it onto the winners list for the 2023 Oscars was a landmark moment for Fraser and his country – with him being the first Canadian to win Best Actor – and now, everyone’s wondering when the star will be back on the big screen.
Brendan Fraser’s confirmed and rumoured upcoming projects
While not the lead in the production, Brendan Fraser’s next big-screen outing looks to be in the star-studded Killers of the Flower Moon. Yet another team-up between Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as the director with Robert De Niro, Fraser will feature alongside those two heavyweights as well as John Lithgow, Lily Gladstone, and Jesse Plemons.
The film itself is focused on the discovery of oil in the tribal land of the Osage Nation in the 1920s, which ushered in a series of murders. Unveiled at the illustrious Cannes Film Festival, Killers of the Flower Moon received a tremendous amount of praise in reviews and got a standing ovation – not that the latter isn’t too difficult to get, seeing as even Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny got a five-minute ovation.
Killers of the Flower Moon is scheduled for release to cinemas on October 20, 2023, so we don’t have to wait long to see Fraser’s next outing. Beyond the Scorsese epic, Fraser has one, or perhaps two, movies on his slate. He’ll certainly feature in Brothers, which is a Twins-type film starring Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage as the siblings. Then, he might just net the starring role in Trap – M. Night Shyamalan’s next film, which was expected to have Benedict Cumberbatch attached as the lead.
Why is there so much hype around Fraser’s comeback?
Fraser was beloved at the peak of his career, never failing to entertain, perform well in drama, or uphold a cheery face in the public eye. On the big screen, he became the iconic look for the well-tread role of the “ape-man” as well as intrepid archaeologist explorers. George of the Jungle was a huge hit in 1997, and now, depictions of the man who grew up in the jungle is quintessentially Fraser in that movie.
You only have to look as far as the online slots real money games to see Bonus Wheel Jungle feature a distinctly George of the Jungle character. Of course, the animation is where the character began, and the slot may well have been designed on the animated version. Still, the live-action movie popularised the character, and those who watched the Fraser flick will certainly get a rush of nostalgia for the fun-loving tree-swinger in the game.
With long hair, a loincloth, and oiled-up abs, Fraser’s comedic performance netted the flick $175 million worldwide. It was his success as George of the Jungle and its rampant run at the box office that helped to land Fraser perhaps his most iconic role. In The Mummy trilogy, he played adventurer Rick O’Connell in the flicks loaded with ancient Egyptian myth, high-speed action sequences, and campy comedy.
Towards the end of the 00s, though, Fraser disappeared from the big screen. It has since been revealed that his case against the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association contributed to this, as did several health issues.
After The Whale, though, he’s become one of the most sought-after actors among moviegoers again.
Published by HOLR Magazine.