Shooting the movie would've entailed spending five months in China, and required her to immediately begin filming right after production wrapped on director Rian Johnson’s The Brothers Bloom. Of all the possible explanations for her not to return, scheduling conflicts would seem to be the most likely. In it, Weisz said that she had never even read the script, and that the scheduling of its production is what put her off the project. The U.K.-based ES Magazine had an interview with her in the Nov. While it sometimes gets overlooked in hindsight, Weisz herself offered a more mundane explanation than any of the above reasons for her lack of participation in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. However, she starred in two other films around the same time, which casts a bit of doubt on that theory. What The Mummy 3 Director Said About The RecastĪ representative of Rachel Weisz told Digital Spy that she stepped away from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor as she had a newborn son, and didn’t want to be away from him for an extended period to shoot the next movie in The Mummy franchise. Here's a look at the reasons for Weisz leaving the series, including what Weisz herself has said on the matter. The part of Evie was ultimately taken over by Maria Bello. Over the years, several different stories have circulated as to why Rachel Weisz opted not to reprise her role for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Related: The Mummy Franchise Did Hollywood's Latest Action Movie Trend 20 Years Early In 2021 she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Black Widow. Weisz plays Melina Vostakoff, another graduate of the Black Widow Red Room spy training facility, and a surrogate mother figure to titular hero Natasha Romanoff. It's not that Rachel Weisz had become averse to starring in popcorn blockbusters either: her career since leaving The Mummy behind has seen a healthy mix of mainstream projects and prestige dramas. She's since gone on to win an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA for her work, and become one of the most recognizable actresses around. That came as a big surprise to many people at the time since playing Evie in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns is what launched Weisz's career from mostly unknown into the Hollywood A-list.
Actress Rachel Weisz didn't return to play adventurer Rick O'Connell's equally capable wife Evie in 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.