The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, is an American upcoming film that follows up The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. It is slated for a August 1, 2008 release.

In The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Luke Ford will play Alex O’Connell, the 20ish son of adventurer Rick O’Connell (Fraser), who journeys into the forbidden tombs of China and into the Himalayas, where they run into a new shape-shifting mummy, a former Chinese emperor who was cursed by a female wizard.

Jet Li plays the mummy, Michelle Yeoh the wizard.

Brendan Fraser returns as explorer Rick O’Connell to combat the resurrected Qin Emperor (Jet Li) in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the frigid Himalayas. Rick is joined in this all-new adventure by son Alex (newcomer Luke Ford), wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) and her brother, Jonathan (John Hannah). And this time, the O’Connells must stop a mummy awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse who threatens to plunge the world into his merciless, unending service.

Doomed by a double-crossing sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) to spend eternity in suspended animation, China’s ruthless Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 warriors have laid forgotten for eons, entombed in clay as a vast, silent terra cotta army. But when dashing adventurer Alex O’Connell is tricked into awakening the ruler from eternal slumber, the reckless young archaeologist must seek the help of the only people who know more than he does about taking down the undead: his parents.

As the monarch roars back to life, our heroes find his quest for world domination has only intensified over the millennia. Striding the Far East with unimaginable supernatural powers, the Emperor Mummy will rouse his legion as an unstoppable, otherworldly force…unless the O’Connells can stop him first.

Cast: Brendan Fraser as Richard “Rick” O’Connell Jet Li as Emperor Qin Shi Huang Maria Bello as Evelyn Carnahan-O’Connell Michelle Yeoh as Zi Yuan John Hannah as Jonathan Carnahan Luke Ford as Alex O’Connell Isabella Leong as Lin Russell Wong as Ming Guo Albert Kwan as Chu Wah Tian Liang as Eunuch Anthony Wong Chau Sang as General Yang.

In November 2001, director Stephen Sommers, who directed the previous Mummy films, said about directing a third Mummy film, “There’s a demand for it, but most of the gang would only be up for it again if we could find a way to make it bigger and better.” In May 2004, Sommers expressed his doubts about having the energy to make a third Mummy, though the cast of previous films had expressed interest in returning.

In December 2005, a review of a script written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar was about a Chinese mummy (China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang), who wants to take over the world with his army of accursed warriors in 1940.

In March 2006, actor Oded Fehr said Sommers had told him a third film was in development and being written, with only Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz’s characters returning for the sequel. The following September, director Joe Johnston was offered the helm by Universal Pictures, who hoped to start filming early in 2007. Later in the month, actress Rachel Weisz expressed interest in reprising her role.

In January 2007, Universal announced that Stephen Sommers, director of the first two Mummy films would not be attached to direct the third film. It was then announced that Universal entered talks with director Rob Cohen to take the helm from Sommers as the director of the third Mummy which is to be released by 2008.

Later in the month, the story was revealed to center around Brendan Fraser’s and Rachel Weisz’s characters, as well as their now grown-up son. Negotiations with the actors are in progress. In February, casting began for the role of Alex O’Connell, the son of Fraser and Weisz’s characters initially introduced as an 8-year-old in The Mummy Returns.

In addition, the character of Jonathan, Evy’s brother and previously portrayed by John Hannah, will return for the sequel. Also in February, director Rob Cohen mentioned that Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh will star in the movie although the official confirmation was not published until May.

In April, actor Brendan Fraser re-joined the cast for The Mummy 3, though actress Rachel Weisz would not be re-joining. The film will be shot in Montreal and China. The movie was reported to be titled The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. In April, actor Luke Ford was cast as Alex O’Connell, and in May, actress Maria Bello was cast to replace Weisz in the role of Evelyn.