Maria Bello to Replace Rachel Weisz in the Mummy 3

When Rachel Weisz refused to return for the The Mummy 3 (rumored title is The Mummy: Curse of the Dragon) Director Rob Cohen and Universal Studios went on the search for a replacement. They have found their new Evelyn O'Connell.

The lucky actress to replace Weisz is Maria Bello. Bello is known for her Golden Globes nominated roles in The Cooler and A History of Violence. She was also seen in World Trade Center.

Bello was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania to an Italian American father and a Polish American mother. She grew up in a working-class Roman Catholic family and graduated from Archbishop Carroll High School in Radnor, PA. Later she attended Villanova University, majoring in political science. She wanted to become a lawyer, but took an acting class during her senior year, just for fun. She was soon cast in small off-Broadway plays as The Killer Inside Me, Small Town Gals With Big Problems and Urban Planning. She later guest-starred on episodes of The Commish, Nowhere Man , Misery Loves Company and Due South.

The film also stars Brendan Fraser as Rick O' Connell, Luke Ford as Alex O' Connell, Jet Li as the new mummy villain and Michelle Yeoh as a wizard. Oded Fehr will not be returning and no reports of John Hannah's involvement.

This time around the O' Connell's head to the forbidden tombs of China and the Himalayas where they battle a new shape shifting mummy, a former Chinese emperor, who was cursed by a wizard.

The film is directed by Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious) and Written by Miles Millar and Alfred Gough (TV's Smallville) and is produced by Jim Jacks, Sean Daniel and former Mummy writer/director Stephen Sommers.

Maria Bello is a good choice for Weisz's replacement, but I rather have Weisz for continuity sakes. The plot sounds a bit odd (a wizard? OOOkkk) but I can't wait to see how this looks. Could end up being good ol' mindless fun! Who knows?

Sources-Coming Soon, JK news