Evelyn O’Connell – The Mummy Films

In the entertainment industry, it’s no secret that there’s as much story to be told behind the scenes as there is in front of the camera. With that in mind, it is no surprise that there have been times when events are told with varying degrees of accuracy, depending on who the account was told by. Such was the case behind Rachel Weisz not returning to reprise her role as Evelyn O’Connell in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Along with Brendan Fraser garnering further recognition for his performance as the lead character Rick, Weisz’s work as Evie gave her a spot as one of Hollywood’s A-list actors. That was reason enough for fans to wonder why Evie was recast with Maria Bello. While there have been many speculations behind this decision, including a dislike for the script, Weisz had just finished working on a previous film by that point, so working on another right after was too inconvenient for her.