Jet Li unearths role in "Mummy 3"

Chinese actor Jet Li throws out the first pitch before the Los Angeles Dodgers versus Chicago Cubs MLB National League baseball game in Chicago, September 13, 2006 file photo.[Reuters]

Jet Li is in negotiations to play the villainous title character in "The Mummy 3," whose plot details are being kept under wraps.

Rob Cohen ("Stealth") will direct the Universal Pictures project. The action will be set in China, with Li's story beginning in ancient times before moving to a post-World War II setting. It is also known that one sequence involves the famous terra-cotta warriors, the collection of 6,000 men and their horses that were originally constructed to protect the tomb of an emperor.

The previous two installments of the action-adventure franchise starred Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as early 20th century adventurers who end up in the path of a reborn Egyptian mummy played by Arnold Vosloo. The first movie, released in 1999, grossed $155 million at the domestic box office, while 2001's "The Mummy Returns" made $202 million. Talks with those actors have not yielded deals yet.

Li is now in preproduction on an untitled project, which teams him with Jackie Chan. Li was last seen in Rogue Pictures' "Fearless."