Sci Fi Wire recently caught up with Maria Bello, the actress who is taking over Rachel Weisz's character in the upcoming sequel The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. She claims that she will be playing a "kick ass version" of Evelyn Carnahan in the new film.

The actress spoke at the Toronto International Film Festival, where she was promoting her fabulous new drama The Jane Austen Book Club. She told reporters that she had died her naturally blonde hair to an auburn color for the role. She stated, "Yeah, it's for a film role. It's for Mummy 3, and I love it."

She continued, saying, "She has the same name, but she's a very different character than Rachel played. She's a badass action chick. I had to train a lot. I had to do wushu, a martial-art form, some kickboxing, sword fighting, rifle training for a couple of months before we even started shooting. It's the role of my dreams. It is just a blast."

She also told of the black eye she sustained on set after getting head-butted by a Winchester rifle then said, "I'm looking forward to the doll, too, though!"

Shooting on The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is to take place soon in China, where Bello will team with her costars Jet Li and Brendan Fraser. The film opens August 1st, 2008.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was released August 1st, 2008 and stars Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Luke Ford, Isabella Leong, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang. The film is directed by Rob Cohen.