The Mummy was a massive success at the time, spawning an incredible franchise that continued to entertain audiences for years. It brought Brendan Fraser to prominence through his role as Rick O’Connell among other cast members. One such talent is Rachel Weisz, who gained a significant career boost with the role, but she left it midway.
Weisz’s surprising exit surely was a shocker for everybody including the former, who reflected on how he felt about the same.
Brendan Fraser Got Candid About Rachel Weisz’s Exit from The Mummy Franchise
In an interview with Collider from 2008, the Crash actor delved into intriguing questions about The Mummy franchise, including the exit of his franchise co-star, Rachel Weisz.
The leading lady portrayed the role of Evelyn Carnahan in the first two of The Mummy trilogy but she was visibly absent in the third one, with Maria Bello replacing her in 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
When Brendan Fraser was asked about his opinions, he reflected on the time when he had to read the screenplay for The Mummy 3.
“I felt Rachel’s absence when I read the screenplay the first time, I will cop to that. We were partners, we were colleagues, we were friends, and I couldn’t read the screenplay and not think about hearing her say it this way or that way. We had that chemistry.”
He further added that he didn’t lament the actress for leaving the franchise.
“Casting agents put actors together and it works like that. I didn’t lament it. I think she made the choice that was correct for her. I don’t know what the reason was.”
Rachel Weisz did a commendable job portraying Rick O’Connell’s wife, with many wondering about what would have been the reason for her sudden departure. While several reports about the recast swirled online for years, one particular speculation hinted at creative conflict.
Rachel Weisz Reportedly Had Problem With The Mummy 3 Script
The Mummy franchise significantly made an impact on Weisz’s acting career who even flaunts an MCU star tag, thanks to Melina Vostakoff’s role in Black Widow. However, the Constantine actress was hesitant to take on the third installment due to severe problems with the script.
A source told CinemaBlend,
“The script is still in the same shape that it was the last time I told you about, meaning that it’s still crap and Weisz finally took the high road out of there.”
Whereas director Rob Cohen claimed via Digital Spy that the actress balked out of the role because her character was “too old“. He added that the Youth actress was furious to appear as parents to an adult son as he recalled,
“I got a very angry phone call from her agent, saying she’ll never play the mother of a 21-year-old. I said, ‘OK, good, fine, bye.'”
Whereas, her representative responded that the actress had no plans to leave her then two-year-old baby, Henry to work long hours. Regardless, The Mummy 3 was unable to attain similar success to its predecessors, grossing over $405 million worldwide.
The Mummy trilogy is available to stream on Peacock.
