Fraser Returning to "Mumm...
Fraser Returning to "Mummy" But Not Weisz
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.
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.
