In November 2001, director Stephen Sommers, who directed the previous Mummy films, said about directing a third Mummy film, "There's 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." In May 2004, Sommers expressed his doubts about having the energy to make a third Mummy, though the cast of previous films had expressed interest in returning. In December 2005, a review of a script written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar was about a Chinese mummy who wanted to take over the world with his army of accursed warriors in 1940.
In March 2006, actor Oded Fehr said Sommers had told him a third film was in development and being written, with only Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz's characters returning for the sequel. The following September, director Joe Johnston was offered the helm by Universal Pictures, who hoped to start filming early in 2007. Later in the month, actress Rachel Weisz expressed interest in reprising her role.
In January 2007, Universal entered talks with director Rob Cohen to take the helm for the third Mummy to be released by 2008. On January 22, 2007 it was revealed that the story would center around Brendan Fraser's and Rachel Weisz's characters, as well as their now grown-up son. Negotiations with the actors are in progress.
