Maria Bello is stepping into Rachel Weisz‘s mummy-fighting shoes for the third installment of the hit action-adventure franchise. In April, it was announced that Academy Award-winner Weisz had declined another run at the undead alongside Brendan Fraser in The Mummy 3: Curse of the Dragon.
Bello will pull a Bewitched-style Dick York/Dick Sargent switcheroo as she plays adventuress Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell, portrayed in the first two films by Weisz. And, while I’m not really a fan of the series (if I wanted to watch Indiana Jones again, I’d just rent the movies), I am a fan of interesting casting choices.
Why is it interesting? For starters, at 40, Bello is older than the 36-year-old Weisz. While it’s not a huge age difference, it is worth noting. How many successful Hollywood productions can you think of where the lead actress was replaced by an older actress? Yeah, I’m still trying to think of one over here.
Bello has a salt-of-the-earth sexiness and matter-of-fact intelligence that make her a good bet in almost any role. She can be glamorous and she can kick ass. Plus, she was in that super-schlocky piece of eye candy known as Coyote Ugly. Really, that is apropos of nothing, but I wanted a chance to post the best thing about the movie – the cast photo. Maybe they could work leather halter tops into her Mummy wardrobe. Just a suggestion.
