The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

[MacGuffin]

Fraser and Weisz back for The Mummy 3
Source: Moviehole

Though rumours have bounced back and forth about the extent of their involvement - one recent report suggested that the only returning cast member would be the villian himself, played by Arnold Vosloo - Freeze Dried Movies reports today that Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz will indeed return for the next "Mummy" film.

"The Mummy 3" will be set many years - apparently the 1940s - after the events of the last film, "The Mummy Returns". Though O'Connell (Fraser) and Evelyn (Weisz) are still very much in the picture, it'll be up to their grown-up son, Alex, to do the Mummy mashing. The new Mummy - Yep, Arnold Vosloo will not be returning- will apparently be the desiccated remains of China's first uber-Emperor Qin Shihuang, who wants revenge on those who turned his team into stone all those years ago.

Stephen Sommers, the force behind the first two films, isn't expected to return as director this time around.

[MacGuffin]

Expedition finds Li for 'Mummy 3'
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Jet Li is in negotiations to play the villainous title character in Universal Pictures' "The Mummy 3," being directed by Rob Cohen.

Plot details of the script, written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, are being kept under wraps (no pun intended). However, it is known that the action is set in China, with Li's story beginning in ancient times before moving to a post-World War II setting. It is also known that one sequence involves the famous terra-cotta warriors, the collection of 6,000 men and their horses that were originally constructed to protect the tomb of an emperor.

Stephen Sommers and Bob Ducsay along with Sean Daniel and Jim Jacks are producing.

[MacGuffin]

Weisz Ditches Mummy 3?
Oscar winner reportedly ankles sequel.

Mommy has reportedly won out over The Mummy when it comes to Rachel Weisz's involvement with Universal's third installment of its blockbuster monster-bashing franchise.

The Oscar winner has dropped out of The Mummy 3, according to TMZ.com. Weisz is said to be juggling four competing projects, as well as her infant son, so the Rob Cohen-directed sequel to the series that made her a box office star took a backseat to those other considerations.

TMZ adds that Brendan Fraser and Jet li are still attached to star in the film, according to an unnamed studio rep.

The Mummy 3 will follow Alex O'Connell, the now-adult son of the first two films' protagonists, Rick and Evy (Fraser and Weisz, respectively). Jet Li will play the new mummy menace that the O'Connells must battle.

[MacGuffin]

Bello replaces Weisz in 'Mummy'
Actress signs up for third installment
Source: Variety

Maria Bello will replace Rachel Weisz in the third installment of "The Mummy."

She joins Brendan Fraser, Luke Ford, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in the Rob Cohen-directed film for Universal Pictures.

Bello will play Evelyn Carnahan O'Connell, the adventuress played in the first two films by Weisz. After Weisz declined to reprise, Cohen and the studio cast a wide net for a replacement.

Scripted by "Smallville" creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, the film brings the O'Connells and their full-grown son (Ford) to the forbidden tombs of China and the Himalayas, where they battle a shape-shifting mummy, a former Chinese emperor (Li) cursed by a wizard (Yeoh).

The first two films grossed more than $830 million worldwide for Universal, which will release the third installment next summer. Sean Daniel, Jim Jacks, Stephen Sommers and Bob Ducsay are producing.

Most recently seen in "A History of Violence" and "Flicka," Bello next stars in "The Jane Austen Book Club" for Sony Pictures Classics, and "Butterfly on a Wheel," which Lionsgate will release in August.

[Kal]

This should go in a category with the fucking sequels that nobody cares about...

[MacGuffin]

[MacGuffin]

I miss Rachel Weisz; although I don't really blame her for moving on. Mario Bello is a poor substitute; and her fake Brit accent is almost as bad as Madonna's... almost. This was a better father/son adventure than Indy 4, which is strange to say because this flick pretty much stole bits from the first three Indy's. Good to see Li and Yeoh, but they lose the spotlight, as do Fraser and Bello to a weaker son and his squeeze storyline romance.