Poor Mummy 3. What started out as a somewhat-fun, mostly-goofy remake of The Mummy has now turned into a Franchise that is sure to sputter out with a whimper, rather than going out with a bang. There has been much speculation as to the quality of the upcoming sequel (which you can follow here, here, here and here. But there is finally a glimmer of hope for the project, as Brendan Fraser has signed on (for major bucks), says Variety.

Although Rachel Weisz is not returning, it wouldn’t be a Mummy movie without Fraser. Let’s face it, no one else is banging down Fraser’s door with acting work, so it’s not a major surprise that he’ll finish what he started. Not to mention that Variety speculates that he made a “top-of-the-food-chain money deal.”

Jet Li is the villain (a kung fu mummy?) and in place of Steven Summers, Rob Cohen will be directing the Miles Miller and Alfred Gough penned script set in China. The movie is planned for a summer 2008 release by Universal.