Aussie actor wants his Mummy

Ford driving into Universal franchise

Up-and-coming Australian actor Luke Ford (“Kokoda”, “The Black Balloon”) has snagged the ‘kid’ role in the next “Mummy” movie.

The 26-year-old – who some may recognize for his role as Craig Woodland on TVs “McLeod’s Daughters” – will play the role of Alex O’Connell, the adventurous son of Rick O’Connell, played by Brendan Fraser.

Rob Cohen, the director of “The Mummy 3”, tells Variety that “We may spin off into a complete father-son direction with Brendan (Fraser, who played the adventurer who battled the monster in the first two installments), but by getting an actor who is in his 20s and not a teenager, we can also put the future on his shoulders. He tested against four much more established actors, and he was magic when he read with Brendan.”

Surprisingly, the trade also says that they’re still going to use the character of Evie O’Connell, the character that Rachel Weisz played in the first two movies, despite the fact that Weisz has opted not to return. Six actresses are believed to be in contention to play surrogate.

In “The Mummy” sequel, Ford will play Alex O’Connell, the 20ish son of adventurer Rick O’Connell (Fraser), who journeys into the forbidden tombs of China and into the Himalayas, where they run into a new shape-shifting mummy, a former Chinese emperor who was cursed by a female wizard.

Jet Li plays the mummy, Michelle Yeoh the wizard.