Brendan Fraser's Rachel reluctance

(BANG) - Brendan Fraser was reluctant to sign up for the third Mummy film when he heard Rachel Weisz wasn't going to be in it.

The pair starred together in the first two movies in the action franchise but the actress opted out of appearing in 'The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.'

Brendan said: "I saw the script and I worked with my friend Rachel on two pictures, you know you read the dialog, you can hear her voice - I had an idea of what her choice was going to be. When I heard that she decided to step aside I would feel her absence no matter who stepped into the role."

However, the actor says her replacement, Maria Bello, has allowed for a change in the character and brings a welcome new dynamic to the partnership.

He added: "Maria has allowed for a type of re-invention of the librarian-expeditioner-ess to take - I think, to have a different run at what the dynamic of that couple is now.

"With Maria, Rob [Cohen] was very enthusiastic about taking advantage of everything that she wanted to be a part of in doing a movie like this. When she and I met she said, 'I wanted to be in Indiana Jones, ride around on horses shoot guns, crack whips, yeah!' So great! Her much needed enthusiasm was definitely infectious."

'The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor' is released in cinemas later this year.

(C) BANG Media International