Lee Cronin is an Irish horror director who built his reputation the slow way — through independent films that prioritized atmosphere and character over spectacle. His breakout was Evil Dead Rise (2023), which he wrote and directed. It was genuinely good. Tense, efficient, didn’t overstay its welcome.
Now he’s attached to a Mummy reboot, which makes sense if you squint at it. The 2017 version with Tom Cruise tried to launch a cinematic universe before it remembered to make a scary movie. Cronin’s films don’t have that problem — his instincts run toward dread, not set pieces.
The jump from indie horror to studio franchise is real though. It’s doable — plenty of directors have made it work — but the constraints change. Whether he gets the creative room to do what he actually does well is the part nobody knows yet.