Smelling the worrying raw stench of cash-in and the potential for sequel suckiness, Rachel Weisz opted out of appearing in a third outing for The Mummy franchise. We’re not sure of her exact reasons, but the fact that Rob “Stealth” Cohen is behind the camera for this one might have had something to do with it, beyond the reasons we listed above.
With Weisz out of the picture, the filmmakers have chosen to go the re-cast route, picking a new actress to play Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell, wife to Brendan Fraser’s Rick and mother to their now fully-grown son (Luke Ford); blonde A History Of Violence bombshell, Maria Bello.
The adventure this time around takes the family to China and the Himalayas, facing off against a shape-changing mummy who happens to be a former emperor and looks a lot like Jet Li with lots of CG added. Turns out the evil ruler was cursed by a wizard (Michelle Yeoh) and is plotting to get his revenge. Don’t you just hate it when that happens?
It seems odd for Bello, who usually chooses artier fare to appear in, would plump for a big, silly summer blockbuster. But then we figure she either A) missed out on Indiana Jones and is taking the low-rent alternative or B) has a mortgage to pay off.
