‘Mummy 3′ rounds out cast, replaces Weisz with Maria Bello

Up until now, I had been hopeful that the latest installment in The Mummy franchise would be able to pull off another good, if not great, movie with Mummy 3:  Curse of the Dragon.  My hopes were dashed with the news that studio has decided to recast the role of Evie O’Connell.

We already knew that Rachel Weisz, who played the role of Evie in the first two films, would not be joining the cast of Mummy 3 due to scheduling conflicts. 

I actually had no problem with this news.  I liked the idea of a father-son adventure.  What better way to extend the life of a franchise with an aging action hero than to give him a son that’ll carry on the adventure?  In fact, I believe Indiana Jones is trying the same technique for its fourth installment.  Besides I liked what we saw of Alex O’Connell in The Mummy Returns and am interested in how he grew up.

A father-son adventure would allow the franchise to continue without Weisz.  Her absence could be explained early on and it would leave the door open for Weisz to return in a later movie.  If a female lead is needed, a love interest for Alex could always be added.  But apparently, no one at the studio is listening to me.  Variety announced that Maria Bello will replace Weisz as Evie.

I personally have nothing against Bello.  I liked her as the no-nonsense bar owner on Coyote Ugly and as Mel Gibson’s girlfriend in Payback.  I even liked her short stint on ER as Dr. Anna Del Amico.  But you just don’t replace an actress on a well-established franchise.  Fans will notice.  By doing so, the studio has already said that it’s not out to make the best sequel that it can.

With so many options available — rewriting the script, casting another female lead in a different role, postponing the film until Weisz is available, the studio took the easy (and probably cheap) way out.  Fans of the Mummy franchise will definitely notice.  And this one is not happy about the decision.  This sequel has just move down to my wait until it comes out on DVD list.

Bello joins a returning Brendan Fraser who will reprise his role as Rick O’Connell and Luke Ford as their son Alex (despite my previous report that Alex Pettyfer would have this role). 

(photos courtesy of filmmonthly.com)

Flailing NBC adds ‘Heroes’ spin-off to next season’s schedule

A struggling NBC announced Monday that it plans to bank on the success of this year’s breakthrough hit drama Heroes by adding a spin-off to next season’s schedule.

The spin-off, Heroes:  Origins, will air in Heroes‘ Monday night slot either when the sophomore drama finishes its run or during a hiatus.  This spring Heroes has seen a dramatic drop off in viewers after this last seven-week break between chapters.  The six-episode order of the second series will extend the run of the Heroes franchise to 30 episodes next season and hopefully will fill the void to retain fans.

Now generally I’m not a fan of spin-offs, especially when the original series is still on the air.  I’ve said as much about the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off.  But when I first heard the title for this spin-off, Heroes:  Origins, I got very excited.  Finally, I thought, we are going to hear the tale of Linderman (Malcolm McDowell), Angela Petrelli (Cristina Rose) and her husband, Kaito Nakamura (George Takei), and Charles Deveaux (Richard Roundtree). 

The story of how they each came into their powers, how they met and formed their justice league-type group, and why they broke up intrigues me to no end.  In fact, I’m almost more interested in the older generation of heroes than the current.  I think their story has a lot to offer, more than the tidbits we are currently getting on the show and in the graphic novels.

Alas, my hopes were dashed when I read the description for the second series.  Instead Heroes:  Origins will be stand-alone episodes that introduce a new character each week.  The audience will then be able to vote for which heroes will be introduced on Heroes in the following season. 

While I think it’s great that the producers are thinking ahead about adding new characters to keep the series fresh, I still want to know more about the heroes we already know.  The each have so much more to tell, especially the older generation (I know I’m harping).  This ploy sounds like something that would be tried in the third or fourth season, not going into the second.

Secondly, I’m really not into the interactive TV thing.  I know, I’m showing my age, but I want to watch television to be entertained.  I don’t want it to become a full-time hobby.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the graphic novels and I love to theorize with other Heroes junkies.  But I honestly don’t want there to be action required of me at the end of an episode.

I had strong hopes that Heroes could avoid the mistakes of other successful serial dramas as it went into its second season.  Now, I’m afraid that it’s going to make some brand new blunders of its own.  I guess I’m left wishing that I am wrong and will be pleasantly surprised with the franchise next season.

In the meantime, I can’t wait for the season finale.

(photo courtesy of NBC)