It stars Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello (replacing Rachel Weisz, who played Evelyn in the first two films), John Hannah, Luke Ford, Anthony Wong, and Michelle Yeoh.

However, fearing his death would end all he had accomplished, the Emperor summoned the sorceress Zi Yuan and sent her to a monastery with his second-in-command, General Ming, to find the long-lost Oracle Bones, which holds the key to eternal life.

Meanwhile, the British government entrusts Rick and Evelyn to take a gemstone called the Eye of Shangri-La back to China.

During the Chinese New Year in Shanghai, the O'Connells learn that Wilson works for a rogue military faction led by General Yang and his assistant, Colonel Choi, who provided the financial backing for Alex's expedition.

Along with Evelyn's brother, Jonathan Carnahan, the O'Connells and Lin travel to a stupa in the Himalayas that will reveal the path to Shangri-La.

Meanwhile, Rick and Alex overpower the Emperor and stab him with the dagger, causing him to explode, which kills him and destroys the Terracotta Army.

[6] In December 2005, he reviewed a script written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, about a Chinese mummy (China's first emperor, who wants to take over the world with his army of accursed warriors in 1940).

[8] The original prologue had Zi Yuan (Zohora) going to Hamunaptra and making a terracotta copy of the Book of the Dead, featuring the puzzle box key from the first film.

The character Sir Colin Willoughby, the head of the society, would play a role in the Dragon Emperor's resurrection in Wilson's place.

Like the previous films, this early draft contained more body horror elements, including a crocodile eating Okumura's arm, and maggots, bone fragments, and fossilized guts seeping through the Emperor Mummy's wounds.

The mummification sequence was also more graphic as the Emperor's heart would've become visible through his chest, pumping black blood through his veins and out of his pores.

He sends Zohora to Hamunaptra under the threat of killing her lover Ming Guo (Sun Tzu) if she fails to return within 90 days, only to present her with his head in a box when she does.

Rick and Evy are introduced in Agra, India, acting as spies for the British government, observing Okumura, believing he has a secret weapon for the Japanese to win the war, later revealed to be the Emperor.

Another later had the O'Connells reluctantly forced to stand back and watch Chang get captured by Japanese troops, who collect insurgents and send them on trains to work camps, as Lily previously told Alex.

It's revealed that despite Rick and Evy sending Alex to Yale to protect him, he left his first year without their knowledge and failed to enlist in the army before being called by Willoughby to work with him.

Later, at a monastery in the Himalayas ransacked by Japanese soldiers, they encounter a Tibetan monk they dub Tequila, who joins the group, leading them to the Temple of Whispering Skulls and accompanying them to the Great Wall.

Other notable differences between the script and film include Shangri-La depicted as a lush utopia filled with people from various eras.

Many Chinese slave workers and other prisoners the Japanese took, including Chang, ward off the Emperor's Terracotta Army instead of undead warriors.

[2] Also in that month, Cohen mentioned that Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh would star in the film although the official confirmation wasn't published until May.

Set decorator Anne Kuljian designed 20 different statue heads that were sculpted by 3D Arts team and interchanged between shots.

Rhythm & Hues Studios (R&H) designed the Yetis and dragons, while Digital Domain handled the battle scenes with the Emperor's terracotta warriors.

The soundtrack features numerous different Chinese and Middle Eastern ethnic instruments along with classic British folklore.

Composer John Debney (who had previously scored the music for the Mummy franchise's spin-off The Scorpion King) provided additional re-scored material for most of the bigger action sequences.

[33] Sierra Entertainment made a game version of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor for Wii, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo DS, which was released on July 22, 2008, in North America to mostly negative reviews.

[37] The film however scored a bigger success at the international box office where it opened at the first position in 26 of the 28 released markets over the weekend and grossed over $59.5 million in the three-day period.

The site's critical consensus read, "With middling CG effects and a distinct lack of fun, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor finds the series past its prime.

[44] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a positive review, awarding it three stars out of four and remarking, "Now why did I like this movie?

Club stated that the film "succeeds largely through sheer excess", albeit within a context that "plods along mechanically through its first hour.

"[46] William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer gave a mildly positive review, saying that "anyone in the market for an overblown and totally mindless adventure-comedy will certainly get his money's worth.

"[50] Michael Sragow of the Baltimore Sun said the film is "like an Indiana Jones movie without rhythm, wit or personality, just a desperate, headlong pace.