Trailer Tuesday: The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

What? You honestly didn't think that Indiana Jones would be the only treasure hunter on the big screen this blockbuster season? The treasure hunters of that blatant Indy knock-off, the Mummy movie series are also back in Tomb of the Dragon Emperor... and honestly, from this trailer the film actually looks pretty good.

Here's the plot synopsis:

The blockbuster global Mummy franchise takes a spellbinding turn as the action shifts to Asia for the next chapter in the adventure series, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Brendan Fraser returns as explorer Rick O'Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor (Jet Li) in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancientChina high into the frigid Himalayas. Rick is joined in this all-new adventure by son Alex (newcomer Luke Ford), wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) and her brother, Jonathan (John Hannah). And this time, the O'Connells must stop a mummy awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse who threatens to plunge the world into his merciless, unending service.

Doomed by a double-crossing sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) to spend eternity in suspended animation, China's ruthless Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 warriors have lain forgotten for eons, entombed in clay as a vast, silent terracotta army. But when dashing adventurer Alex O'Connell is tricked into awakening the ruler from eternal slumber, the reckless young archaeologist must seek the help of the only people who know more than he does about taking down the undead: his parents.


There's been something of a behind-the-scenes and in-front-of-the-camera shuffle with the Mummy 3, which should bring a breath of fresh air to the franchise. While Stephen Sommers is still producing the film, after 2 Mummy movies he has relinquished the director's chair to Rob (The Fast and the Furious, xXx) Cohen. Sommers has also handed writing duties over to Smallville and Spider-Man 2 scribes, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.

Audiences probably won't notice these behind the scenes changes but they're sure to realise that World Trade Center's Maria Bello has replaced Rachel Weisz as Evie, and that the film makers have made the strange decision to have Rick and Evie's young son from The Mummy Returns all grown up this time around. (Oh, well, no obnoxious brats this time then).

I know I'm personally going to miss Weisz's comforting presence a great deal, but the blow has been softened a bit by the inclusion of Eastern superstars Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in the cast. Li plays the title character, and hopefully (like Arnold Vosloo's Egyptian priest) he gets to stick purely to Chinese instead of attempting English dialogue. Michelle Yeoh, meanwhile, plays a Sorceress who aligns with the O'Connells to stop Emperor Han.


The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor looks like a lot of CGI-crammed fun. It opens in the States on 1 August and in South Africa a week later on 8 August.