I can't understand how people like Rob Cohen actually get money to make these movies.

Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh in 'Mummy 3'?

A huge Mummy 3 scoop just hit the Net and if it is all true it certainly changes the story from the previous installments, perhaps in a good way. Word comes from an IGN scooper that apparently attended a screening of Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story at Chapman University in Orange, CA, which was directed by Rob Cohen who will be directing The Mummy 3.

Apparently Brendan Fraser's character will not be the main character, it will in fact be his son Alex who was 10 in The Mummy Returns. On top of that Cohen apparently said that Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh will both be in the film which will take place in China.

Here is how it read:

...[Cohen] confirmed that Jet Li will play the Mummy in The Mummy 3, which he is directing. He also said that the film will take place in China and Michelle Yeoh will also be in the film. The biggest bombshell was that the film's protagonist will not be Brendan Fraser, but rather his character's son, now 22 years-old. Also, Jet Li will be the head Mummy in a group of Mummies that were the Teracotta army."

IGN in turn contacted Yeoh's agents at Endeavor and they said she is not signed on for the film.

The Mummy 3 currently has a July 18, 2008 release date.


ROPEOFSILICON.com

Sounds interesting enough.

I wanna remain optimistic but the kid being the star and the terracota warriors angle doesn't thrill me. Maybe it'll be good but Cohen, unnecesarry protagonist, and a huge shift in gears just makes me think this will suck hard. :(

Wow, sounds like this crapfest was put into overdrive...

I don't have high hopes for this, but I do think the terracota army angle could be good. I suppose a lot depends on who they get to play the son, hopefully not the same kid.

I actually dont mind rob cohen directing, He make good popcorn flicks. Fast and the Furious and XXX were all great popcorn action movies, so i expect he will bring it to the Mummy aswell. It couldve been worse, Uwi Boll couldve gotten it ::eek::.

Anyways, Im pretty sure Weisz and Fraser will be back, and hopefully also Jonathan and Ardeth. They gotta go all out in what could possibly be the final mummy film.

Love the idea of Jet Li/Michelle Yeoh...

Im a HUGE Mummy fan so i cant wait!

Enjoyed the first two. Will wait and see on this one.

Did the executives at Universal watch Stealth before they offered Cohen the job?

This idea is looking worse.

I have never met a person who has actually seen "Stealth".

It's a lot like when "Mystery Men" came out on DVD.

That's because one doesn't see Stealth. One suffers through Stealth.

All I remember seeing was the scene at the waterfall. ;)

Well I've never met anyone who has suffered through exposure to the movie "Stealth".

Its really sorta like the opposite of the movie "Coming to America", I rarely find someone who hasn't seen the movie.

Watching Stealth is what caused Britney Spears' hair to fall out.

Wow, so much hatred for Stealth. I actually enjoyed it (along with Fast & Furious and xXx.) But we digress...back on topic.

I can't say that I'm thrilled about the new story idea for Mummy 3. I think a lot of the success of the first two is the interaction between Fraiser, Weisz, Fehr, Hannah, and Vosloo. Plus we need to see Patricia Velasquez in gold paint one more time. ;)

I will admit that Stealth had its moments (like the aforementioned waterfall scene :drool: ) but it really was not a good film. And a large part of that (aside from the script) is Rob Cohen's lousy direction. It just comes across as if he's the only one that doesn't get how silly the concept is and he should just have fun with it. I have the same problem with The Fast And The Furious and XXX (although he did manage to loosen up a bit in XXX).

Honestly, I would have preffered they got Chuck Russell to direct this. The Scorpion King may not have been great but it had a sense of silly fun that this entire series is built on. If he were given a chance to make a sequel akin to The Mummy, I think Chuck Russell could pull it off. Rob Cohen, on the other hand, I'm not so sure.

Well if "Mummy 3" doesn't have some silly fun going on than it will be pretty pointless to see.

That light, silly fun is what makes "The Mummy" so enjoyable.

Exactly. The problem is that Cohen has a very stiff and serious way with his movies. I just don't think he'd know how to have fun with this and try to make it uber serious with only a few flashes of humour here and there.

All depends on the kid. Since it will not be Frazer, I would like to see them take a more serious approach because I have no faith in the kid being able to pull off the necessary comic timing for the movie to be watchable.

Expedition finds Li for 'Mummy 3'
By Borys Kit
March 22, 2007

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.

Jeff Kirschenbaum and Erik Baiers are overseeing for Universal.

Li is now in preproduction on an untitled J&J project, which teams him with Jackie Chan. Li was last seen in Rogue Pictures' "Fearless." He is repped by CAA, ACE Media and Bloom Hergott.

Stealth made my eyes bleed. This thread brings back painful memories...

Fraser returns for 'Mummy 3'
Weisz leaving lucrative franchise
By DIANE GARRETT, MICHAEL FLEMING

Brendan Fraser has closed a rich deal to return in "The Mummy 3," but Rachel Weisz is not coming back.
Rob Cohen will direct the pic, which is expected to begin production late in the summer. It will be set in China and will introduce Jet Li as a villain.

Universal is planning a summer 2008 release; franchise has earned more than $830 million worldwide. "The Mummy" bowed in 1999 and "The Mummy Returns" in 2001.

Weisz has won an Oscar and had a baby since the last installment, has dropped out of talks to reprise her role. She has several other projects in the offing, including "The Brothers Bloom" and Phillip Noyce's Outback drama "Dirt Music," set to begin shooting in August.

Script is by "Smallville" creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, who will do another pass that will factor in the absence of Weisz. Universal is holding up a greenlight pending a final rewrite, but a late summer start date is still expected.

Fraser, who previously toplined "George of the Jungle," has proven a reliable franchise performer. Word has it he's made a top-of-the-food-chain money deal for "The Mummy 3," the first film in the series that won't be directed by Stephen Sommers.

Sean Daniel, Jim Jacks, Sommers and his shingle partner Bob Ducsay are producing.

Fraser is also starring in two New Line-distributed films with tentpole aspirations: "Journey 3D," an adaptation of Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" that Walden Media and New Line are producing, and "Inkheart," the Iain Softley-directed adaptation of the Cornelia Funke fantasy novel. New Line is eyeing 2008 releases for both pics, which could lead to a trio of event-sized Fraser films.

Fraser's repped by WMA.

Cool to see Fraser back.

Too bad Weisz isn't coming back. I wonder they'll recast her character or pull a T3 and say she died in between the movies...

She doesn't need to be killed off. I hope that her absence takes their "kid" with her.