Development

In November 2001, director Stephen Sommers, who directed the previous Mummy films, said about directing a third film, "There is 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."^[5] In May 2004 during the release of Van Helsing, he expressed his doubts about having the energy to make a third film, though the cast of previous films had expressed interest in returning.^[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).

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.^[7]

Writing

An early version of Gough and Millar's script contained many callbacks to the previous films that went unused.^[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. Instead of the Oracle Bones, Zohora uses the book's terracotta copy to curse the Emperor and his army. The book would also have been used to resurrect the Emperor instead of the Elixir of Life. Jonathan not only named his nightclub after Imhotep but styled the barmaids with Anck-Su-Namun's bodypaint. The Bembridge Scholars that Evy frequently mentioned in the first film would have returned in a minor role as the character Sir Colin Willoughby, the head of the society, would play a role in the Dragon Emperor's resurrection in Wilson's place. In the second film, Meela says three men will "receive their [your] just rewards." The Emperor Mummy says Yang (Okumura) will get his reward when the Emperor conquers the larger world. During the final battle, Alex's slingshot would return to play a vital role in defeating the Emperor.

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. After becoming immortal, the Emperor forms a new brain, eyeball, and skin grafts over his cracked body. In his mummy form, the Dragon Emperor shared a few similarities with Imhotep: they both drain people's lifeforce to heal themselves (in doing so, the Emperor, however, also turns his victims into terracotta and shatters them); after draining one character, the Emperor Mummy inherits his victim's blue eyes, like Imhotep did in one scene of the second movie; Just as Imhotep made impressions of his face in sand and water in the first and second films, respectively, the Emperor Mummy does the same during the avalanche, making his face appear in the snow. 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. Then molten clay covers his clothes and body before being superheated and hardened by intense white light beams from within him.

The script showed the Emperor as having a more ruthless personality. 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. When he becomes immortal, the Emperor puts a searing finger on Okumura's forehead, makes him kneel, and pledge his loyalty. He kisses Zohora to simultaneously spite and curse her by turning her and the other immortals in Shangri-La into terracotta statues. The curse doesn't affect Lin (Lily Chen) because she's already sacrificed her immortality before the Emperor arrives in Shangri-La. Then, as he takes Lily, the Emperor tells her she will pay for her mother's sins by sharing his bed as his queen. During the climax, the Emperor punishes Okumura for his failure by encasing him in a giant brass lantern.

The script took place in 1940 during World War II instead of afterward. 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. With the backdrop of the war, the script shows the tensions between the Chinese and Japanese, with one scene in Imhotep's where Jonathan calms a dispute between the O'Connells' friend and Chinese resistance member, Chang, and Japanese Major Suki. 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. Unlike the film, the O'Connells learn the Emperor has five days to become immortal after he's awakened, or he'll turn to dust. 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. Rather than the Emperor Mummy mortally wounding Rick, Alex would've taken the hit to save his dad.

Other notable differences between the script and film include Shangri-La depicted as a lush utopia filled with people from various eras. The Dragon Emperor showed more of his mastery over the five Chinese elements: he freezes and unfreezes a river to escape; rapidly shoots fireballs from his hands; makes "snow arms" to drag enemies underground, and makes a raincloud with water from the Spring of Eternal Life to raise his army. Unlike in the movie, he doesn't become a shapeshifter. Many Chinese slave workers and other prisoners the Japanese took, including Chang, ward off the Emperor's Terracotta Army instead of undead warriors. Instead of the one-on-one fight between Rick and the Dragon Emperor, the O'Connells try to complete a ritual involving the five elements to unlock the "River of Spirits", the Emperor's enemies' souls beneath the Great Wall, to defeat the terracotta soldiers as the Emperor tries to stop them. Rick tells the Emperor to give Imhotep his regards after delivering the killing blow. The terracotta curse upon Shangri-La ends with the Emperor's death, freeing its inhabitants, including Zohora.

Casting

In March 2006, actor Oded Fehr, who played Ardeth Bay in the first two films said that Sommers had told him that a third film was in development and being written, with only Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz's characters returning.^[9] The following September, Universal Pictures offered director Joe Johnston the helm, instead of Jurassic World but Johnston declined.^[10] Later in the month, Weisz expressed interest in reprising her role.^[11]

In January 2007, Universal announced Sommers would not direct the third film. It was then announced that Universal entered talks with director Rob Cohen to take over directing duties.^[12] Later in the month, the story was revealed to center around Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz's characters, as well as their adult son. Negotiations with the actors were in progress at that time.^[13] In February, casting began for the role of Alex O'Connell. Additionally, John Hannah reprised his role as Jonathan.^[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.^[14][15]

In April, Brendan Fraser re-joined the cast for the film.^[16] Weisz did not, citing "problems with the script" in addition to having just given birth to her son.^[17][18] The film was shot in Montreal^[19] and China. The film was originally reported to be titled The Mummy 3: Curse of the Dragon.^[20] In April, Luke Ford was cast as Alex O'Connell,^[21] replacing Freddie Boath in the role and in May, Maria Bello was cast to replace Weisz in the role of Evelyn. Bello commented during an interview that the new "Evy" is different from the original "Evy". "She has the same name, but she is quite a different character," said Bello.^[22] At a news conference in Shanghai, Bello told the audience that Rob Cohen has "created a new Evelyn. In the first two Mummy movies she was all actiony and lovely, but this Evelyn might be a little more... forceful in terms of her martial art skills and shooting skills".^[23]

Filming

Principal photography started at Montreal's Mel's Cite du Cinéma. 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.^[24]

At the city's ADF stage, Phelps's team created sets of the Terra Cotta mausoleum. Set decorator Anne Kuljian designed 20 different statue heads that were sculpted by 3D Arts team and interchanged between shots. One soldier and horse statue was bought from China, and copies of it as well as "The Dragon Emperor" were made (Jet Li's statue was sculpted by Lucie Fournier, Tino Petronzio, and Nick Petronzio 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 was filmed, the first scene shot with Jet Li.^[24][25]

On October 15, 2007, the team moved to China. At Shanghai Studios, a set depicting the city in the 1940s was used for the chase sequence and was shot in three weeks. General Yang's camp was filmed in a Ming village near Tian Mo. At the studio, Chinese cultural advisers aided Cohen in depicting the Qin Dynasty language and ceremonies.^[24] The O'Connell family's drama scenes were shot in an Egyptian-themed nightclub suitably named "Imhotep's".^[26]

The crew frequently had to halt filming when soldiers marched in and near Shanghai. The desert battlefield's setting was actually a training facility for the Chinese army that was leased.^[27]

Filming also took place in the UK, including at Shepperton Studios and Waddesdon Manor.

Effects

The visual effects were done by two Los Angeles-based VFX houses. Rhythm and Hues Studios designed the Yetis and dragons, while Digital Domain handled the battle scenes with the Emperor's terracotta warriors. The pool of water resembling diamonds took Rhythm and Hues eleven months to complete.^[28] The A.I. software Massive, used for the Lord of the Rings films, was 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.^[29]

Marketing

The Mummy Movie Prequel: The Rise & Fall of Xango's Ax, a comic book limited series by IDW Publishing, was published to promote the film. The comic explores the relationship between Rick and his son Alex.^[32]

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.^[33] Gameloft made game version of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor for mobile phones.^[34]

Box office

The film premiered in Moscow on July 24, 2008, and had a wide release of 3,760 theatres in North America on August 1, 2008.^[35]

The film was the top-grossing film the day it opened, earning $15.2 million (The Dark Knight was in second place with $12 million) on Friday. However, the film did not become number one overall in the box office on opening weekend, claiming only $40.4 million, which allowed The Dark Knight to claim the top spot for the third consecutive week with $42.6 million.^[36]

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.^[37] It substantially outpaced comparable openings for The Mummy ($16.7 million) and The Mummy Returns ($21.5 million) in the same markets.^[38] The film also set opening records for the distributor in Korea (drawing $13.3 million), Russia ($12.7 million), Spain ($6.7 million), and Thailand.^[38] As of October 10, 2008, the film's domestic total stands at $102,491,776, with a much stronger international intake of $300,958,054. This brings its worldwide total to $403,449,830.^[1][39] It is the lowest-grossing film in The Mummy trilogy.^[40]

Critical response

As of June 2022, on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 13%, based on 178 reviews, with an average rating of 3.70/10. 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."^[41] As of November 2021, on Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on reviews from 33 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[42] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.^[43]

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? It was just plain dumb fun, is why." Ebert also stated that it is the best in the series.^[44] Nathan Rabin of The Onion's A.V. Club stated that the film "succeeds largely through sheer excess", albeit within a context that "plods along mechanically through its first hour."^[45] 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."^[46] Dallas movie reviewer Casey C. Corpier said that the film was almost as enjoyable as the original and liked the fact that it delivered what it advertised. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said the film "has some good things [but] does not have enough of them to make the third time the charm."^[47] Ken Fox of TV Guide called the film "passable popcorn fare".^[48] Jennie Punter of The Globe and Mail said the film is "kind of fun, but the twists and turns are all too familiar."^[49] 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."^[50]

Accolades

Cancelled sequel

After the film was released, actress Maria Bello stated that another Mummy film will "absolutely" be made and that she had already signed on.^[52] Actor Luke Ford was signed on for three more films as well.^[53] However, in 2012, Universal Pictures cancelled the film and was instead working on a reboot, titled The Mummy.

On October 12, 2022, Brendan Fraser revealed that he's 'open' to revisit the franchise and said "I don't know how it would work. But I'd be open to it if someone came up with the right concept." Later, Fraser told Pete Hammond that although he does not know any details about a reboot, he was not against returning. ^[54]

Reboot

On April 4, 2012, Universal announced their plans to reboot the franchise.^[55] The film was intended to be the first installment of the Dark Universe, simply titled The Mummy, and was released in June 2017.^[56] However, the film failed both critically and financially, making this the only film installment in a failed Dark Universe.