Among the sequels being unleashed on the general cinema going public next year, one has maybe got its work cut out a little more than the others. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – or The Mummy 3 as it's more often known, because we don't have time to say all those extra words – has got memories of the plasticine faced Scorpion King at the end of The Mummy Returns to erase. And years of douching our eyes with bleach has still not erased the horror.
But let's give it the benefit of the doubt, because this seems to be giving the series a much needed overhaul. There's a whole new director (Rob Cohen), a whole new Rachel Weisz (Maria Bello), a whole new mummy (shapeshifting Emperor of Qin, played by Jet Li) and, according to two new featurettes that you can see here, a drop in temperature of about 30°C.
You don't see a lot of footage in these two clips (Duelling Camera Cranes and The Mummy Stunt Team), but we do get a little look at Brendan Fraser back in action as Rick O'Connell and shooting at something in the snow. There's also some B-roll of some of the Emperor's men being thrown at things. The message we seem to be getting is: This isn't going to scrimp on the action. And, if it also throws in all the fun of the first movie, then that's just fine by us.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is out on August 1, 2008