Casting news from the weekend: Maria Bello will be taking over the role of Evie O'Connell in the "Mummy 3," while Gina Holden will be paying Dale Arden on the new Flash Gordon series on SciFi.  The latter is sad news for Blood Ties fans, as it means Coreen will be departing the series.

Tanya Huff, author of the book series, said in her blog, "This is a great role for Gina as she'll be playing the female lead in a twenty-two episode series -- bringing to life an iconic female character from the Golden Age of Science Fiction.   Although I'm very sad that we're losing her from Blood Ties, I'm thrilled she's getting this opportunity to shine as she's a terrific actress and a wonderful person."

Holden will be starring opposite Eric Johnson in the series; no other casting information has been released.

In "Mummy" news, after the departure of series star Rachel Weisz, producer Rob Cohen and Universal went looking for recasts, and they found a replacement in Maria Bello.  Her best-known role was in "Coyote Ugly" as Lil, the owner of the bar.  She's also been on ER, costarred in "Payback" with Mel Gibson, and more recently in "A History of Violence" and "Flicka."