Tara Emad Joins ‘The Mummy: Book of the Dead’ [Exclusive]

Dread Central can exclusively report that Tara Emad, pictured below, has joined the cast of Universal’s now filming The Mummy: Book of the Dead. Her role is currently under wraps but she’s considered a lead, our sources tell us.

The Egyptian actress and model has built her career in Egyptian film and television, with credits including Diamond Dust and the Arabic adaptation of Suits. Genre fans may recognize her from The Blue Elephant 2, in which she appears as a mermaid.

The casting news follows yesterday’s title reveal, and Book of the Dead is a really fun one. Obviously, the book has its own history in The Mummy, but try saying that title without immediately thinking about Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead.

This sequel is a big deal. It brings Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz back together, returning to the first two movies’ roots and reportedly disregarding The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. We might finally get the third chapter we deserved.

Behind the camera are Radio Silence’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, whose very specific brand of scary fun feels perfectly suited to this world. You know their work from Scream and Ready or Not, not to mention my first V/H/S and Southbound. They know how to make something frightening without forgetting that we’re supposed to be having a good fucking time.

Here’s the returning cast and who they play:

• Brendan Fraser as Rick O’Connell.
• Rachel Weisz as Evelyn O’Connell.
• John Hannah as Jonathan Carnahan, Evelyn’s brother.
• Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bay.
• Kevin J. O’Connor as Beni Gabor.

Yes, Beni is back, too. Considering where we left him, that one certainly raises some questions.