Universal, United International Pictures, Solar Entertainment Corporation, and INQUIRER.net: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. In theaters everywhere July 31st.

Epic production, epic movie

The Mummy franchise takes a spellbinding turn as the action shifts to Asia for the next chapter in the global adventure series that has earned more than $800 million at the box office worldwide.

Blockbuster action director Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious, xXx) invites audiences to experience a forbidden land with the epic “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.”

Brendan Fraser (The Mummy franchise, Journey to the Center of the Earth) returns as explorer Rick O’Connell, who now combats the resurrected Chinese Emperor (Jet Li of War, The Forbidden Kingdom) in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China to the neon-lit streets of post-war Shanghai and high into the Himalayas.

Rick is joined in this supernatural action-adventure by son Alex (Luke Fordof Kokoda, The Black Balloon), archaeologist wife Evelyn (Maria Bello of A History of Violence, World Trade Center) and her bumbling brother, Jonathan (John Hannah of The Mummy series, The Last Legion). 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 wronged sorceress, Zi Yuan (Michelle Yeoh the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Memoirs of a Geisha), spends eternity in suspended animation, as China’s ruthless Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 warriors lie forgotten for eons, entombed in clay as a vast, silent Terracotta 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 their quest for world domination 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.

Now, in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the trademark thrills and visually stunning action of The Mummy series will be redefined for a new generation.

Characters newly introduced to The Mummy universe include Rusell Wong (Romeo Must Die, The Joy Luck Club) as Zi Yuan’s love, Ming Guo, the Emperor’s loyal servant who is betrayed by his ruler; Liam Cunningham (Breakfast on Pluto, The Wind that Shakes the Barley) as Rick’s old friend and pilot, Desi “Mad Dog” Maguire; and acclaimed Chinese actor Isabella Leong (upcoming Missing), making her American film debut as the Dragon Emperor’s ageless tomb guardian, Lin.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Spider-Man 2, television’s Smallville). Reprising their roles as producers in the series are Sean Daniel (The Mummy series, upcoming The Wolfman), James Jacks (The Mummy series, Intolerable Cruelty), Stephen Sommers (The Mummy series, upcoming G.I. Joe) and Bob Ducsay (The Mummy series, Van Helsing). Chris Brigham (The Aviator, The Good Shepherd) serves as executive producer.

To tackle the largest production to ever shoot in China, the accomplished behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Simon Duggan (Underworld: Evolution, Live Free or Die Hard), production designer Nigel Phelps (Troy, Pearl Harbor), editors Joel Negron (xXx, Gridiron Gang) and Kelly Matsumoto (The Mummy series, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), costume designer Sanja Milkovic Hays (Gridiron Gang, Blade), special effects coordinator R. Bruce Steinhemer (Miami Vice, Gangs of New York) and visual effects supervisor Ginger Theisen (Eight Below, Hidalgo). The music is by Randy Edelman (Shanghai Noon, 27 Dresses).

• Casting the Film
• Brendan Fraser
• Isabella Leong
• Jet Li
• John Hannah

• Liam Cunningham
• Luke Ford
• Maria Bello
• Michelle Yeoh
• Russell Wong