This summer may be confusing to some less blog-literate moviegoers thanks to two recast roles. In both The Dark Knight and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, a prominent character is played by a new actress. In the former sequel, "Rachel Dawes" will be played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, replacing Katie Holmes, who had the role in Batman Begins. In the latter, "Eveyln Carnahan O'Connell" will be played by Maria Bello, subbing for Rachel Weisz, who appeared in both The Mummy and The Mummy Returns.

This certainly isn't the first time characters have been recast with different actors, and over at The Onion, the A.V. Club has listed 20 such memorably jarring switcheroos, which they're calling The Darrin Effect (after the famous character replacement on TV's Bewitched), in television and film. Surely everyone recalls when Sarah Chalke took over the part of "Becky" on Roseanne; the writers even occasionally even slipped in some reflexive jokes about it. And let's not forget the glaring problem of recasting Jodie Foster's Oscar-winning role of "Clarice Starling" -- Julianne Moore played the part in Hannibal. Or the tragic yet surprisingly respectable replacement of Michael Gambon for a deceased Richard Harris in the Harry Potter movies.

Perhaps sensing that the dough was going to rise (ha!) on this puppy, Papa John's Pizza is sponsoring the new trailer for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor over on director Rob Cohen's blog, in preparation for the three-quel's forthcoming premiere on big screens and large pizza boxes everywhere come August 1.

Anyway, what's the difference between this new trailer and the one we got just a month back? Not all that much, really, which means that the film still looks to be an improvement over its noxiously overblown predecessor. Yes, after seven years, Brendan Fraser's character remains vocal about his wearying habit of fighting mummies. No, you're not crazy, Rachel Weisz isn't just bearing a passing resemblance to Maria Bello. Sure, their son seems to have aged ahead just enough to be both handsome and cocky in equal measure.

But all qualms aside, it isn't often when one gets to say that a movie looks to have a cooler Yeti than it does a three-headed dragon, so check out Cohen's blog for that trailer and other behind-the-scenes material, and here's to hoping that the film itself manages to be the most entertaining action-adventure blockbuster surrogate for the Indiana Jones franchise since... well, last month.

Lara Croft learns the trade from a very old Indiana Jones


Most Hollywood blockbusters spawn their share of low-budget ripoffs, but only a few really successful movies are influential enough to be followed by big-budget copycats. Usually these followers get media-infused taglines such as "Die Hard on a ... " or "Aliens in a ... ", with the labels likely originating at the studio pitch stage.

Though Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels were already derivative and referential works, the Indiana Jones franchise also inspired derivatives of its own, some that were exploitive, some that paid homage and some that are only linked through minor elements. So, in celebration of the latest Indy movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, here's a look back at all the "Indiana Jones as a ... " knock-offs that Hollywood has delivered in the last few decades:

1. Indiana Jones as a woman: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

The real source of this and its 2003 sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, were the Tomb Raider video games, which were clearly inspired by the Indiana Jones films. In the movie we have an archaeologist who seeks a mystical object, which she must keep out of the hands of an evil society. There's an Asian temple, a reunion with a disappeared estranged father and a finale involving the crumbling self-destruction of an elaborate set piece. It's like all the initial three Indiana Jones films wrapped up in one, with added sex appeal in casting Angelina Jolie in the Harrison Ford role. Yet Jolie as Croft is too serious to be the female counterpart to Ford's Indy. Also, while the Indiana Jones films deal with some level of magically religious fantasy, they're at least grounded by "real" or familiar artifacts such as the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant. And they tend to remain just realistic enough to avoid things like giant six-armed statues that come to life.

Cinematical has just received a batch of exclusive images from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (see gallery below for more). The first poster for this sequel hit the other day, and I imagine a trailer will be knocking on all our doors real soon. In this third Mummy installment (technically fourth if you include The Scorpion King), father-and-son duo Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Alex O'Connell (Luke Ford) find themselves in the Far East where they unearth the mummy of the first Emperor of Qin. Needless to say, said Emperor (as played by Jet Li) is your basic, run-of-the-mill shape-shifting entity, cursed by a wizard centuries ago, and out to wreak some havoc. The beautiful Maria Bello and Michelle Yeoh round out the cast.

Rob Cohen directed this one, and if you like what you see in the gallery below, make sure to head on over to Rob's official Mummy production blog. Dude's been keeping that loaded with all sorts of tasty goodies ever since production first began, so definitely check that out, as well as the film's official website (which just went live). The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor arrives in theaters on August 1.

Before anyone accuses me of being too hard on the latest installment of The Mummy, you should know that it is coming from someone who really liked the first movie. So you would think that I would be happy with the news of a fourth film -- but here we are. MTV news reports that according to the brand new Evey (Maria Bello), "[There will] absolutely be The Mummy 4." She also went on to tell MTV that she has signed for not one, but three more sequels.

We all know by now that The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is a bit of a departure for the franchise. Not only do we get a new bad guy and exotic locale, but we also have Bello taking over where Rachel Weisz left off. Sure, Brendan Fraser and John Hannah have returned, but this is not The Mummy that most of us know and love.

On the upside, at least Evey is going to get the chance to kick a little butt of her own. Bello told MTV, "In the beginning of the movie I do a sword fight with an invisible mummy, I had to be on wires and do sword work. It took days to do, and it was so much fun. I would do flips on the wire and I'd land down and be like a little kid." It's about time Evey got to handle a little more of the rough stuff.

Bello wasn't quite sure when movie number four will happen. Although she did hint that the next film might take place in South America -- or maybe she's just angling for a vacation. Universal might want to see what the box-office returns are for Emperor first. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor arrives in theaters on August 1st.

Looking at this new promo still for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, I now realize what the first two Mummy movies were missing: martial arts! Never mind the fact that Jet Li looks awesome in this shot. I'm just excited because there's no possible way that Brendan Fraser (aka "Rick O'Connell") is going to get out of this fight alive. Imagine how great this sequel would be if Fraser got his ass kicked. Yeah, unfortunately, Fraser probably does win the battle somehow. Or if he does get served in this scene, he will win out in the end. In that case: poor Jet Li. How could he ever live with himself if he's seen on the big screen defeated by the guy who played George of the Jungle and Dudley Do-Right?

The photo comes courtesy of Rob Cohen, the sequel's director, who has been blogging the production ever since shooting began over a month ago. Since, we have seen a photo of "the Terracotta Army" and a photo of Maria Bello, who took over the part of "Evy" after Rachel Weisz dropped out. There have also been some videos on the blog, including footage of Fraser shooting at a river, falling out of a tree and throwing himself in some mud. And if you are really excited about the martial arts, you will want to check out the video about the stunt team, which doesn't feature any actual fighting but is still interesting enough. Say what you will about Cohen's directorial skills, he may in fact be better than Stephen Sommers at least, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is sure to be the coolest installment of the series. Unless, that is, they decide to follow tradition and give us some really terrible CGI at the end. Pray that Jet Li doesn't end up rendered out of sand in the end.

One of the great things about an art history education is that it can lend to the appreciation of bad movies. Take, for instance, the "Terracotta Army", which I happened to learn about in an introduction to art history class. The ancient statues are featured prominently in the second Mummy sequel, titled The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. And since my class made me interested in the statues -- figures of warriors and horses that were buried near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in the Shaanxi province of China -- I am actually somewhat interested in seeing this movie, even though I'm neither a fan of the first two Mummy movies nor of director Rob Cohen, who took over the franchise from Stephen Sommers. Whether or not you too are familiar with the statues, you can see the ones reproduced for the movie in a great looking photo over at Cohen's blog (yes, he's blogging the production). Of course, if you are a cynic like myself, you will dismiss the coolness of the pic and continue your skepticism until the movie is released (and you'll probably not see it). But if you are also an artsy fartsy dork like myself, you might curiously attempt to at least see the movie for free when it arrives in theaters, if nothing else than to see how the art is presented on screen.

In other Mummy 3 news, Maria Bello, who has replaced actress Rachel Weisz as the character of Evelyn, spoke with SCI FI Wire recently about the role. She told them the character is the same person but she's now portrayed differently, as a "bad-ass action chick". For this, Bello had to train in the martial art of wushu, as well as in kickboxing, sword fighting and rifle shooting. Also, while rehearsing for the movie, she got a black eye from the butt of a Winchester. Those of you who thought she was sexy all beat up in that staircase scene in A History of Violence (I know you're out there) may hope she gains some more sightly bruises -- real or applied with makeup -- for the actual filming. As for me, I preferred Bello in the more-innocent cheerleader scene, so I'd rather its only the bad guys who get the bruises -- though as I said, I'll mostly just be looking at the reproduced art work. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor will be in theaters August 1, 2008.

It looks like all is not well with Mummy 3. Last week Erik finally confirmed that Rachel Weisz would not be returning to reprise her role as the plucky librarian/adventurer. So while the official reason provided by Weisz's reps was scheduling conflicts and quality time with her family, sources for IESB .net say the real problem might have been the script. Early reviews of the Mummy script weren't favorable, but now IESB's sources say the script is being re-tooled as a father and son adventure to accommodate Weisz's absence -- which sounds a little too close for comfort to some of the ideas bandying around for the latest Indiana Jones. Now titled Mummy 3: Curse of the Dragon, the film leaves Egypt behind (and Oded Fehr for that matter), and is set in China. The story will have our hero, Rick O'Connell, battling cursed Terra Cotta Warriors. Jet Li is still in talks for the film, but consensus seems to be that his signing is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Weisz had been mentioned as a possible contender for Sin City 2, which according to Rosario Dawson, is shooting this summer. This could lend some weight to the rumor that Weisz is joining Rodrguez's cast and maybe is the source of her "scheduling conflict." Either way, bailing out of Mummy 3 might be the smarter choice, Enough bad word of mouth just might be the final "nail in the sarcophagus" for the franchise. I guess we will have to wait until Summer 2008 to find out.

I've always thought if you wanted a textbook example on how to ruin a viable movie franchise, then you need not look further than The Mummy Returns. The Mummy was a great summer flick that won audiences over (myself included) with it's enthusiasm and charm. So despite my trepidation when it comes to sequels, I was all for the idea of a second film. That is...until I saw The Mummy Returns. It seemed thrown together, and since the principles involved weren't coming back for another go round it felt like they just crammed everything into those two hours. The situation didn't improve when the third installment, The Scorpion King landed in theaters with a bit of thud. But Universal has always been keen on the idea of resurrecting the franchise.

CinemaBlend.com had posted rumors that the Mummy 3 production was struggling not only with getting Brendan Fraser back into the lead, but also with a script that was dead weight and the issue of director Stephen Sommers being replaced by Stealth's Rob Cohen. Our own Erik Davis pulled Fraser aside on the Inkheart set and tried to wrestle a few more details from him. Now, Universal has responded to all the rumors and confirmed that the principles are all in negotiation to return, and the script will be undergoing a re-write. Universal also went on to say that while Sommers would not return as director, they had every confidence in Cohen's ability to get the franchise back up and rolling. Considering what most critics thought of Stealth, it looks like Universal's faith in Cohen could be a little misguided.

It has now been well over a year since actor Brendan Fraser announced he would be reprising his role from The Mummy films for at least one more go around. After the announcement Fraser quickly backed away from his statements, claiming nothing was official at the time. Six months later, news finally popped up which seemed to confirm Fraser's original claims, as we were told The Mummy 3 was happening, and happening against the backdrop of China. The evil villain this time would be the dead Emperor Qin Shihuang and his terracotta army of the undead. But after that, the news stopped ... until today, which is, of course, why we are talking about it again. It's now been confirmed Universal Pictures has indeed signed Brendan Fraser for a third Mummy film. Fraser will once again play action hero Rick O'Connell, but the story will not be a direct sequel. It will instead be a "re-imagining" of the first two flicks. The upside of this plan, for the studio, is it allows them to put new cast members in place around Fraser without having to explain why the old ones aren't back. Hey -- it is a re-imagining! No word yet on the fate of the rumored undead terracotta army. Also of note; the new version will be written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar of Smallville fame, two very popular authors these days.

I continue to support The Mummy films. Certainly not masterful pieces of art or anything, but I enjoy watching them. Good action, good fun, and I can sorta shut my brain off while I watch. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a popcorn summer action flick, and The Mummy fits snugly into this category. I'm not entirely sure what a "re-imagining" means, but it sounds like what Marvel keeps trying to explain with their restart of The Hulk franchise. If this trend continues, I will need to re-energize my push for a "re-imagined" League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.