Rachel Weisz, 36, has turned down the recurring role of Brendan Fraser’s, 38, on-screen love (girlfriend in the first and wife in the second) in The Mummy 3. Fraser has officially signed up to return to his role of tomb raider and mummy killer in the Egyptian based action movies. Weisz has claimed scheduling conflicts as the reason for her absence.
I’m a little suspicious that Rachel Weisz may have decided that a series of slightly slapstick action movies may now be below her after picking up her first Oscar for 2005’s The Constant Gardener. Halle Berry began a similar claim when she implied she was too good to be doing X-Men movies after her Oscar for Monster’s Ball. That probably had more to do with her bomb movie Catwoman though.
The Mummy 3 will do just fine without Weisz though. It was nice to have a pretty face around in the first two, but the series has always focused on Brendan Fraser’s character, Rick O’Connell. Hopefully the writers will decide to abandon the previous mummy archenemy and supply a new, fresh target for Fraser to pursue. Either way the third installment is likely to have a new feel as Rob Cohen (director of The Fast and the Furious) will take over for Stephen Sommers’. Actually, Rob Cohen’s history as a director kinda worries me. Stealth, xXx, and The Skulls are also on his list of directorial efforts, none of which appealed to me. Ah well, I’ll probably still go see it anyways.
Update: Big thanks to “Ed”, “Diane”, and “Sally” for pointing out this article from E! Online where E! also suggests Rachel Weisz bailed out due to her heightened status as an actress due to her new Oscar.
Posted on: Tuesday, April 17, 2007
29 Responses to “The Mummy 3 Will Return Without Rachel Weisz”
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April 30th, 2008 at 12:00 pm[...] for the third installment of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Brendan Fraser will be back, Rachel Weisz won’t, but the villain mummy this time around will be Jet Li. Wise and knowledgeable Wild Bluff Media [...]
April 17th, 2007 at 10:11 am
For one, the movies was about Rick and Evy and with out Evy, the movie will not survive. Second what ever personal problem you might have with Rachel leaving the mummy 3, a lot of people have said that it was the right thing to do. To try to say that Rachel thinks is below her is stupid and it shows ignorance on your part because it was being reported weeks in advance that Rachel was about to back out of the Mummy 3 because the script is reported to be terrible, not because it was beneath her.
Maybe if you would do your homework, you would have found the articles that reported this other than to bash Rachel because she left your favorite film.
Here, let me save you the trouble:
From Eonline:
http://www.eonline.com/print/index.jsp?uuid=a0ce5525-aa1d-4237-9159-1451829ecdb5&contentType=awfulTruth
From: Cinemablend
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Rachel-Weisz-Leaves-Mummy-3-4912.html
April 17th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Feisty! Feisty! This must be Rachel Weisz’s dad. Brother maybe?
If she thinks the script is terrible and won’t do it, doesn’t that means she thinks it’s below her?
Nah, the movies are still about him. They tried to over-incorporate her in the last film and it was flimsy. I think it should be good to free up Fraser’s character more in this next one.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:34 am
Excuse me wildbill but if you are going to make an accusation, at least try to know what you are talking about. The IESB web site did a script review of The Mummy 3 and they even said that the script was bad and the reviewer was a huge fan of the first two films.
BTW, If it was not for Rachel Weisz, The Mummy Returns would have been almost unwatchable.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Hey again Ed. It’s safe to use your name twice when leaving multiple comments. Or if you really want to make it look like you’re two different people you should do it at a different computer so you don’t have the same IP address both times.
I hope you come back though as I’ve enjoyed your very passionate responses!
April 17th, 2007 at 11:27 am
Actually,Diana and Ed were using a school library computer and i am using it now.
Giving my two cents on the subject, The links provided do give a clear picture of what is really going on with the mummy 3 script.
Now for real school work.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
I am a fan of both Weisz and Fraser, but I think the kid stole the show in Mummy Returns.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
I forgot about them having a kid in the last one. Now that could make it a little harder for them to explain…
April 17th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
It’s just plain bad luck that the Rachel Weisz fan-club was meeting this morning during study hall and everyone had their turn on the “school library computer” to froth. What were the chances?
Gimme a few minutes and I’ll have Larry, Curly, and Shep all have their turn on my “school library computer” to also chime in.
Weisz Fanbois of the World Unite!
April 17th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Your EOnline article nearly hits the nail on the head. You’re right “Ed”!:
“Hats off to Rach for being perfectly picky after winning an Oscar…Perhaps she could give some advice to Hilary Swank?”
Wow. If only I had done such fine research as you to find articles the mimic the same statements I’m making so you can refute them by citing articles that support my point. Thanks!
April 17th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
“Sally”, you mean a “clear picture” like where Eonline supports my theory by saying, “Hats off to Rach for being perfectly picky after winning an Oscar…Perhaps she could give some advice to Hilary Swank?”
Or did you mean the solid source in the other link named, “Our source”. Now that’s reputable!
I’ll add another Weisz theory to the mix. If Fraser got his “big paycheck” then perhaps Weisz didn’t and felt slighted since she’s the one with the Oscar. So she bailed since she wasn’t going to get enough money.
Let me know when you get back from recess.
May 22nd, 2007 at 7:07 pm
personally, i think that the mummy 3 won’t be the same without her. she was my favorite in the series. i love the mummy and the mummy returns. even if the script is bad, it will be worse without her.
May 26th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
I’m certainly sorry she decided to not come back as she added another dimension to the stories, but hopefully they’ll be able to pick up with out her. A replacement actress has been named, which I need to write up here soon!
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
In some ways I am reminded of a self fulfilling prophecy. She dropped out because the script is bad, and the script is probably going to suck because they have to write it for the new evy, who says that she is “recreating evy” who will be very different from the one we know and love.
Personally, I would have been happier if they had killed her off pre-movie. Then Brendon would spend the movie coping with the stress of losing her, and mending the relationship with his son, after they drifted apart after the death of his wife. Her death would of course be archeology related, making Brendon have to face his fears at one point in the movie, and be the dad he hasn’t been since her death (when he shoves the kid into a private school and stops talking to him). Now that is gold writing.
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:03 pm
@Brian: That is seriously a much better approach then whatever they’ll have decided to do here. Killing her off would have freed things up a lot and still provided plenty of chances to influence Fraser’s character in this one, as you’ve described.
Maybe we’ll get luckier in #4??
July 6th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
No Rachel Weisz, no Oded Fehr…no movie for me.
I love Brendan Fraser to death, and am looking forward to his new movie, ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’. But if he, and the guy who plays Jonathan are the only returning cast members for M3, it’s going to be a tough pill to swallow. Though I was a little stoked to see Jet Lee in there.
As far as all of this stuff about Rachel backing out, it’s been my experience that the 3rd installment of 90% of movies are absolute crap. I think they pushed it with ‘Scorpion King’ and I certainly wasn’t expecting a 3rd one (though technically, it’s a fourth). I won’t be seeing it in the theater.
If I were Rachel, I wouldn’t have done it either.
July 8th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Hello all,
I’m very disappointed Rachel won’t be in Mummy 3 but maybe it was for the best. I absolutely loved her “dingbat” brilliance in Mummy 1 but thought her evolution in Mummy 2 changed the essence of her character far too much. I agree with Brian that it would have been far better to kill-off the character pre-movie rather than recast. Although likeable, I just don’t see Maria Bello in the character of Evie. I’ll pass judgement for now but, for me, the Mummy was and always will be about ancient Egypt.
July 13th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I SAW THE TRAILER ON THIS IN THE MOVIES, AND WAS SUPRISED THAT RACHEL WASNT RETURNING AS EVIE, THEY HAVE ALL THE OTHER STARS FROM THE FIRST AND SECOND MOVIES SO IT JUST DOESNT SEEM RIGHT THAT SHE ISNT IN IT TOO, I THINK THEY SHOULD OF CUT HER CHARACTER OUT INSTEAD OF HAVING SOMEONE ELSE PLAY IT (SHE COULD OF BEEN HOME AND JUST NOT WENT WITH THEM ON THE EXPEDITION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT) IN MY OPINION.
July 19th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Why is it children that if you disagree its high school or worst grade school bullying or name calling.
My 2 cents worth is sometimes it does make a movie more enjoyable to see the same star, sometimes a movie can be trying to watch and stomach.
Mummy 3, I still haven’t seen it but if it appeals to me or makes me sick to my stomach at least those who can did it, and those who can’t usually are the critics.
If you know what makes a movie enjoyable try writing a screen play.
Then others can sit and play the knowledgeable critc, who dropped out of flim making school. lol
play nice kids.
remember nothing we say or believe will matter in a decade’s time.
Move on
July 28th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Let’s face it, “thirds” very often just don’t work (take the “Alien” series, for example; only the first and second were any good-after that, they just got stupid). And if the script was that bad (which seems to be the concensus of opinion), I don’t blame Rachel Weisz for passing. I have a feeling Brendan Fraser is going to wish that he had, too. Even if the script had been good, it just wouldn’t be the same without the Evie we all know and love (of course, if it had been good, maybe Rachel would have signed on). Imagine how wrong “Return of the Jedi” would have been if someone other than Carrie Fisher had played Princess Leia. Like Rachel, I think I’ll pass on M3-at the theatre and the DVD too.
If characters are to be killed off, I’d rather it be her ridiculously abnoxious brother! Evie is important; her brother is just a pain in the @#%!
BTW, I rather enjoyed “The Scorpion King” and don’t really consider it one of the ‘Mummy’ movies (mostly, because there aren’t any mummies in it). As an action/adventure film, it’s not that bad. I’ll wager it’s better than M3 is going to be.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I saw the movie, well actually I’m watching it at this very moment. I believe its crappy that Rachel Weisz didn’t star in it. I want to by the Mummy Collection BUT the i want it BEFORE the Mummy 3 gets added. I will forever think of The Mummy Series as an acient egypt movie and forget my scarring of the third movie.
Evee in the third Mummy was NOTHING like the first two!! Which is why even with a new actress it was crappy. Maybe it would have been ALITTLE bit better if they had at least kept her with the same personality and not suddenly make her seem like a completely other person.
I’m only a high school student so my opinion might not seem like much but this is what my whole family (even my 10 year old sister) thought.
I also agree with some of you who said to kill her off!! That would have been MUCH MUCH better as well.
August 6th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
hi Im a big fan of the mummy and mummy returns but this time, I really DO NOT LIKE THE 3 MOVIE. this new girl didn’t know what she was playing, she looks pretty but kind of silly. i like more Rachel Weisz Sexy and smart she will put some action to this movie, but anyway.
December 31st, 2008 at 6:47 am
this movie was so crap without her
March 20th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
I dont care what anyone says, Mummy 3 sucked BIG time!
Bad script, one of the original actors missing, what were the writers/director thinking when they made this movie?
Is it any wonder that Rachel said ‘no’ to the 3rd movie? Whether it was a bad script, that she was too good for the role after an Oscar award, conflict of schedules, whatever - get over it! Good on her for turning it down, they should have made the movie without her character in the story and she was off on field work on the other side of the world. Anything but that rubbish storyline for M3, it was ghastly. Its like the directors choosing some other actor other than Matt Damon to play Jason Bourne. Huge mistake.
If it aint broke, dont fix it.
Matt, your comments are as basless as your review on this terrible movie. You really need to get over yourself.
March 21st, 2009 at 9:55 am
@Broke: This wasn’t a review of the movie as it was written more than a year before the film was released, but thanks for the feedback. I’ll try to add more “bas” to my writing to avoid that “basless” feeling.
March 22nd, 2009 at 5:25 am
Hahahahahaha…how sad. Do you need a hug or something? Ridicule and putting others down seem to be the only best thing you can do. Never mind, i’m sure your negativity can be aimed at plenty other movies that are a waste of consumers money, i can assure you theres plenty more where that came from…in the meantime, knock yourself out! I’ve wasted enough time typing this up…groundless…is that better? waahahahaha…rock on Matt, what a laugh a minute you are…perhaps you should have written the script for M3 and then when you’ve had your moment and in another world rec’d an Oscar for it, you could turn down Universal pictures because you’re too good for writing a script for M4…hahahahaha…
Moving right along…wont be coming here no more, your advice is just too too much.
March 27th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Bas.
September 20th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I missed Rachel Weisz’s warmth and beauty in the Mummy 3 movie. As a result, I found the movie short on romance - which was an important part of the first two movies.
January 17th, 2010 at 12:42 am
Okay the 3rd mummy sucks. I am watching it now and I can’t even believe that Racel isn’t in it. It totally is horrible with Maria whatever. The movie doesn’t work without her, Brendan has absolutly no chemistry and I obvisoly know that this woman isn’t british, she’s faking like 3 different accents. Honestly this brought down the whole Mummy movies for me. I love the first two but this was a real letdown. The script was SHIT, oh good god and the acting itself was horrible. Luv Brendan Fraiser and Jonathan (Sorry I don’t know his real name) but sadley the script was really bad- so they then looked bad. Also, I didn’t like the storyline- Mummies are from Eqypt not China!!!!!