Brendan Fraser was reluctant to sign up for the third installment of the Mummy trilogy when he heard his co-star Rachel Weisz wasn't going to be reprising her role. The pair starred together in the first two movies in the action franchise but Weisz opted out of appearing in new movie The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor. The actress was eventually replaced by Maria Bello, who joined the cast to take on Weisz's character Evie. And Fraser insists he missed Weisz right from the very first read through. He says, "I felt Rachel's absence when I read the screenplay for the first time. We were partners, friends, colleagues, and I couldn't read the screenplay and not think about hearing her say it this way, or that way. We had the chemistry." But the star insists the movie hasn't suffered following the loss of Weisz, adding, "We didn't want to change the storyline where we start laying flowers at her grave. I don't want to give the joke away but I can promise you a brand new Evie."