With the next chapter of “The Mummy” opening on August 1^st, Universal has kicked up the marketing a bit by sending us a ton of new images from the movie.

If you didn’t know, Rob Cohen is directing the latest chapter and the series has moved to Asia to tell the next adventure. Here’s the synopsis:

Brendan Fraser returns as explorer Rick O’Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor (Jet Li) in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the frigid Himalayas.  Rick is joined in this all-new adventure by son Alex (newcomer Luke Ford), wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) and her brother, Jonathan (John Hannah).  And this time, the O’Connells must stop a mummy awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse who threatens to plunge the world into his merciless, unending service.

Doomed by a double-crossing sorceress (Michelle Yeoh) to spend eternity in suspended animation, China’s ruthless Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 warriors have lain forgotten for eons, entombed in clay as a vast, silent terra cotta army.  But when dashing adventurer Alex O’Connell is tricked into awakening the ruler from eternal slumber, the reckless young archaeologist must seek the help of the only people who know more than he does about taking down the undead: his parents. 

As the monarch roars back to life, our hero finds his quest for world domination has only intensified over the millennia.  Striding the Far East with unimaginable supernatural powers, the Emperor Mummy will rouse his legion as an unstoppable, otherworldly force...unless the O’Connells can stop him first.  Now, in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the trademark thrills and visually spectacular action of the Mummy series will be redefined for a new generation.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is helmed by director Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious, xXx) and written by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (Spider-Man 2, television’s Smallville).  Reprising their roles as producers in the series are Bob Ducsay, Sean Daniel, Stephen Sommers and James Jacks.

With the Olympics in China this summer and NBC airing the games, I’d expect tons of commercials while you’re watching the competition. After all, NBC and Universal are part of the same company.

And before getting to the images, for more info you can go to director Rob Cohen’s website. Here’s the link. http://www.robcohenthemummy.com