If you are a millennial, you won’t forget the thrill that The Mummy series brought to screens. However, while we were indulged in the action and adventure with a touch of horror, a lot was going on at the lead actress’s end. You might have noticed Rachel Weisz’s absurd absence from the 2008 entry, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. 

The movie was directed by Rob Cohen, unlike its first two entries by Stephen Sommers. Following this, many reports suggested that the Constantine actress did not wish to leave her young child, Henry, alone. However, Cohen had a totally different story to tell, per Digital Spy. 

The outlet reports that Cohen stated, 

I got a very angry phone call from her agent, saying she’ll never play the mother of a 21-year-old. I said, ‘OK, good, fine, bye.’

Following this heated conversation, Weisz was replaced by Maria Bello for the role of Evelyn O’Connell, also known as Evy. Besides her, the original cast reprised their roles, with Brendan Fraser playing Rick O’Connell and even John Hannah portraying Jonathan Carnahan. 

Rachel Weisz Dodged a Bullet After The Mummy Returns

Rachel Weisz in The Mummy Returns | Universal Pictures

Whatever her reason was to stay out of the cast of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, she surely escaped the ugly fate that the movie received. Unlike its predecessors, the 2008 entry in the franchise failed to impress the audience as well as the critics, receiving the worst reception. 

Although the movie featured a grand cast, with Jet Li in the antagonist’s role, it was criticized for its lack of fun and unappealing CGI, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, the story as well did not match what the previous entries had brought to the screens. 

Besides Fraser, Bello, Hannah, and Li, the movie brought along Michelle Yeoh as Zi Yuan, Luke Ford as the son of Rick and Evy, Alex O’Connell, Isabella Leong as Lin, and even Liam Cunningham, alongside Alison Louder. 

However, even with so much talent packed into one flick, the entry failed to stand on the worth the franchise had once built. 

Movie Release YearIMDbRotten TomatoesWhere to WatchThe Mummy19997.1/10 63% Amazon VideoThe Mummy Returns20016.4/10 46% Amazon VideoThe Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor20085.2/10   13% Amazon VideoThe Mummy20175.4/10 15% Amazon Video

The Mummy 4 Can Revive Universal’s Dark Universe

The big news is Fraser is back on board, along with Weisz, for The Mummy 4 per The Hollywood Reporter, and whatever is cooking smells pretty intriguing. We feel the franchise should be given another chance with a new Mummy entry, starring the old cast. 

However, it looks like the 2008 entry actually opened a cursed tomb. The Mummy movie was rebooted back in 2017, starring the Hollywood A-Lister, Tom Cruise. He was joined by Sofia Boutella, Anabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe, and Jake Johnson. 

However, yet again, the film failed to impress everyone who watched it. Moreover, it has to be the worst in Cruise’s career. The flick went on to be so bad that it totally shut down the Dark Universe, which Universal Pictures once planned to bring to the screen. 

For those unversed, Universal was aiming to bring a sequel to Cruise’s The Mummy. With that, they were even planning to work on The Bride of Frankenstein, starring another A-Lister, Angelina Jolie, Frankenstein’s Monster, which would have starred Javier Bardem, The Invisible Man, which was supposed to be played by Johnny Depp, as well as Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, which was already introduced in the 2017 entry, being played by Crowe. 

Other entries were Dracula Untold 2 and the remake of Hugh Jackman’s Van Helsing. 

Let us know what you feel about the Dark Universe and if you wish to see another Mummy outing. 
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire