Plot
The film begins with a narration about the rise to power of Emperor Han, the Dragon Emperor. He conquered all his enemies, many of whom were buried under the Great Wall of China, and mastered the five elements, but could not conquer death. To that end, he sought the help of Zi Yuan, who knew where to find the secret of immortality. Jin declares to his first in command, General Ming, that no man is to touch her; however, the two fell in love during their search. After Zi Yuan supposedly casts the immortality spell on Jin, he ushers Zi Yuan to the balcony to watch as General Ming is pulled apart by horses. He then stabs Zi Yuan. She reveals that she has in fact cursed the Emperor and his army, turning them into terra cotta statues, and manages to escape.

The film jumps ahead to 1947. Explorer Rick O'Connell, his wife Evelyn, and brother-in-law Jonathan are now retired. Their son Alex has dropped out of school and become an adventurer like his parents. With the financial backing of Roger Wilson, Alex locates the Dragon Emperor's tomb. Though he is attacked by a mysterious woman, he avoids harm and successfully brings the Emperor back to Shanghai. In the meantime, the British government entrusts the elder O'Connells to take the Eye of Shangri-La back to China as a good faith gesture from the British to the Chinese. All the O'Connells arrive at Imhotep, a night club in Shanghai owned by Jonathan. Alex gives his parents a tour of the exhibit, where it is revealed that Roger Wilson is in league with a paramilitary group led by General Yang and his second in command Choi. Using the Eye of Shangri-La, which contains water from Shangri-La, they are able to resurrect the Emperor. The mysterious woman from the excavation site tries to kill the Emperor with a dagger cursed by Zi Yuan, but he manages to escape.

The mysterious woman reveals herself to be Lin, a protector of the Dragon Emperor's tomb. She explains that the path to Shangri-La can be revealed using the Eye. The O'Connells, Jonathan, and Lin trek through the Himalayas with the help of Rick's pilot friend Mad Dog Maguire and reach the tower that will reveal the path to Shangri-La when the Eye is placed on top of it. General Yang, his soldiers, and the Emperor arrive shortly after. Lin summons a trio of yeti to assist in the battle, but the Emperor ultimately succeeds in placing the Eye atop the golden tower. Rick is stabbed by the Dragon Emperor's sword while protecting Alex. Alex triggers an avalanche, which buys them time to reach Shangri-La first.

They reach Shangri-La first and Rick is healed by Zi Yuan, who was rescued by the yeti after cursing the Emperor. She is revealed to be Lin's mother, General Ming having fathered her shortly before his death. Using the water, they have become immortal and have guarded the secrets of the Emperor for over 2,000 years. The Emperor arrives and is able to bathe in the pool, restoring his physical form and giving him shape-shifting abilities. He takes the form of a three-headed dragon, kidnaps Lin, and flies to his Terracotta Army at the excavation site.

The Emperor summons his army, which will become invincible should it cross the Great Wall. To buy time, Zi Yuan sacrifices her immortality and that of her daughter to revive those buried beneath the Great Wall. Led by General Ming, the undead army and the Terra Cotta army fight. A massive battle ensues, during which Zi Yuan and the Emperor fight one-on-one. Zi Yuan sacrifices herself to steal back the cursed dagger. Alex saves Lin and they find Zi Yuan dying soon after. She gives Lin the dagger and tells her to stab the Emperor through the heart. While Rick and Alex head off to fight the Emperor, Evelyn and Lin fight and kill General Yang and Choi. Rick and Alex find themselves outmatched against the shape-shifting Emperor, and the dagger is broken during the confrontation. Rick goads the Emperor into fighting fair, and manages to plunge the dagger hilt into his heart. Alex in turn stabs him in the back, fusing the dagger within the Emperor's heart. The Emperor dies a dramatic death in flame.

Back at the Imhotep, Mad Dog is the new owner and the now-mortal Lin is dancing with Alex and they finally kiss. Rick and Evelyn are dancing as well. Jonathan, on the other hand, decides to move to Peru with the Eye of Shangri-La, a place he claims has no mummies. After he leaves, a caption appears on the screen stating that a few weeks later mummies were discovered in Peru.
Production

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."[4] 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.[5] In December 2005, a review of a script written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar was about a Chinese mummy (China's first emperor, who wants to take over the world with his army of accursed warriors in 1940). The idea of the emperor and his army is based on the real-life Qin emperor Qin Shi Huang, who was buried amidst thousands of crafted and fired terra cotta soldiers, called the Terracotta Army, dated at latest to 210 BC. (Incidentally, the Terracotta Army is actually mentioned at the end of the novelization as something that will be discovered in the future, although its relation to the emperor's army, or rather how the destroyed army made it into the site is left unexplained.)
Casting

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.[7] The following September, director Joe Johnston was offered the helm by Universal Pictures, who hoped to start filming early in 2007.[8] Later in the month, Weisz expressed interest in reprising her role.[9]

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.[10] 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 were in progress at that time.[11] In February, casting began for the role of Alex O'Connell. In addition, the character of Jonathan, previously portrayed by John Hannah, will return for the sequel.[3] 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.[12][13]

In April, Fraser re-joined the cast for The Mummy 3.[14] Weisz did not, citing "problems with the script."[15][16] The film was shot in Montreal[17] and China. The movie was reported to be titled The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.[18] In April, Luke Ford was cast as Alex O'Connell,[19] and in May, Maria Bello was cast to replace Weisz in the role of Evelyn. Bello reported during an interview that the new "Evy" is different from the original "Evy". "She has the same name, but she's quite a different character," said Bello.[20] At a news conference in Shanghai, Bello told the audience that "Rob Cohen has 'created a new Evy ... in the first two Mummy's she was all actiony and lovely, but this Evy might be a little more ... forceful in terms of her martial art skills and shooting skills'".[21]

[edit] Filming

Principal photography started at Mel's Cite du Cinema in Montreal. There, the Eye of Shangri-la scenes were shot by production designer Nigel Phelps.The team then shot on the courtyard set of gateway to Shangri-la. The courtyard was dressed with fake snow, created by effects supervisor Bruce Steinheimer's team.[22]

At the ADF stage in the city, Phelps's team created sets of the Terra Cotta mausoleum. Set decorator, Anne Kuljian made 20 different statue heads and interchanged between shots. One soldier and horse statue was bought from China, and then copies of it were made in a workshop in Montreal. Propmaster Kim Wai Chung supervised the making of the horses' bridles and mausoleum ornaments in China. Meanwhile at Mel's the brutal battle between the Emperor and Rick, the first scene shot with Jet Li.[22] [23]

On October 15 2007, the team moved to China. At Shanghai Studios, an set depicting the city in 1940's was used for the chase sequence shot in 3 weeks. Gen. Yang's camp was filmed in a Ming village near Tian Mo. at the studio, Chinese cultural advisers aided Cohen in order to depict the Qin Dynasty language and ceremonies.[22]

The crew frequently had to halt in and near Shanghai when soldiers marched. The setting of desert battlefield was actually a training facility for the Chinese army that was leased.[24]

[edit] Effects

The visual effects were done by two Los Angeles-based VFX houses. Rhythm and Hues designed the yetis and dragons, while Digital Domain will handle the battle scenes with Jet Li's terracotta warriors. The pool of water resembling diamonds took Rhythm and Hues 11 months to complete.[25] The award winning A.I software Massive which was used on Lord of the Rings will be used to create the undead battle scenes.

Design company Imaginary Forces created the opening title sequence and end titles. IF designers also shot real paint splatters and brushstrokes. To portray an "accurate and historic China," they turned to calligrapher T.Z. Yuan for ink brush writing.[26]

[edit] Music

The bulk of the score in the movie is composed by veteran composer Randy Edelman. The soundtrack will feature numerous different Chinese and Middle Eastern ethnic instruments along with classic British folklore, and is expected to be released on July 29 by Varese Sarabande rec