10 Movie Franchises That Destroyed Themselves With ONE Decision

Recasting a popular character is always a tough nut to crack, as became frustratingly apparent in the third Mummy movie, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Because Rachel Weisz had issues with the script and had just given birth, she opted not to return as Rick O'Connell's (Brendan Fraser) wife Evelyn, with Maria Bello instead taking over.

Now, no disrespect to Bello, who is an exceptionally talented actress in her own right, but Weisz and Fraser had such disarming and entertaining chemistry in the first two movies, as accounted for much of the series' kitschy charm.

But Bello and Fraser had no natural rapport whatsoever, with Bello's interpretation of the character simply being far more serious and lacking in warmth.

It didn't help that the third Mummy film was a boatload of terrible otherwise - even with the inspired casting of Jet Li as its villain - but perhaps had Weisz been back to light up the screen alongside Fraser, this threequel wouldn't have felt quite so inert.

It ultimately underwhelmed at the box office, and as a result Universal cancelled a planned fourth film and eventually pressed on with their ill-advised, Tom Cruise-starring 2017 reboot. The less said about that, the better.