The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is a 2008 American action adventure fantasy film directed by Rob Cohen, written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and produced by Stephen Sommers (director of the first two films), Bob Ducsay, Sean Daniel, and James Jacks. The film is set in China rather than Egypt and focuses on the Terracotta Army's origins. It is the third and final installment in The Mummy trilogy. It stars Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello (replacing Rachel Weisz, who played Evelyn in the first two films), John Hannah, Luke Ford, Anthony Wong, and Michelle Yeoh. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor premiered in Moscow on July 24, 2008, and was released in the United States on August 1, 2008. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics and grossed $403 million worldwide, the trilogy's lowest-grossing film. Universal Pictures rebooted the Mummy franchise in 2017 as an attempt to start the Dark Universe franchise. Plot In ancient China, a warlord unites the country's kingdoms into an empire, becoming the Dragon Emperor. He led a civil war to become the founder of the Qin dynasty, with his men burning existing books and scrolls. He later ordered the construction of the Great Wall of China, and buried his enemies' corpses beneath it. He learns to control fire, water, earth, wood, and metal—the traditional Chinese Wuxing elements. However, the Emperor grows fearful that his death will end all he has accomplished and summons Zi Yuan, a sorceress. He sends her to an ancient monastery with his second-in-command, General Ming, to find the long-lost Oracle Bones, which hold the key to eternal life. She and Ming fall in love, despite the Emperor wanting Zi Yuan to himself. When one of his servants witnesses them consummating their relationship, the Emperor has Ming executed in retaliation. However, Zi Yuan anticipated this: instead of giving him the type of immortality he wanted, Yuan cursed the Emperor and his soldiers, thus turning them into the Terracotta Army. Centuries later, in 1946, Alex O'Connell—Rick and Evelyn O'Connell's son—and his archaeology professor Roger Wilson find the Emperor's tomb. Though attacked by a mysterious woman, they bring the sarcophagus to Shanghai. At the same time, the British government entrusts Rick and Evelyn to take a gemstone called the Eye of Shangri-La back to China. In Shanghai during the Chinese New Year, the O'Connells learn that Wilson works