Plus, a $5.5 million salary left the actor feeling “humbled.”įans, too, resonated with Johnson’s take on the action-packed film, and the appearance provided a platform for future work. That film provided Johnson with his first starring role. They were so impressed with his abilities that they asked Sommers to start working on a prequel - The Scorpion King - before filming had even been completed. “There hasn’t been a new straight-up action figure in quite a while,” then president of production Kevin Misher said while watching Johnson work on the film. It’s clear what Johnson was hoping to get out of taking the part, but what did the creators see in him - a then-untested actor? Going into filming The Mummy Returns, Johnson had two things going for him: a commitment to making it as a film actor and a determination to make a name for himself that didn’t involve wrestling.
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Dwayne Johnson won over creators on ‘The Mummy Returns’
#The mummy returns movie movie
So the movie was eventually pushed forward despite the misgivings. The excitement over bringing Johnson - then known almost exclusively as “The Rock” - to the big screen persevered. But it really was okay in the end,” according to star Brendan Fraser. And the dialogue needed to be pared down. The characters related to one another a bit awkwardly. On top of that, even the first film’s script needed a lot of work. While filming in Morocco, Sommers even took out terrorist insurance on the actors. “Sequels usually suck,” Sommers commented.Īdditionally, the original film had been very dangerous to make. It might be surprising to learn, then, that the director wasn’t on board with continuing after the first film.Īs Entertainment Weekly reported in 2001, writer-direct Stephen Sommers was not convinced that The Mummy Returns was a good idea.
#The mummy returns movie series
We now know that not only did The Mummy Returns continue the story of Brendan Fraser’s character Rick O’Connell from the original, but it also spurred a third film in the series titled The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). Confused? So are we.The Scorpion King (played by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) relishes battle in ‘The Mummy Returns.’ | ILM/Universal Studios But for all that, there is a plot hole in the midst of all the action, one involving two characters meeting again for the first time.
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It's a fun film, a sequel that lives up to the potential of the first movie while leaning more into the action-adventure side of things over the more adventure-horror themes of the first movie. When events conspire that see Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) returned from the grave by the reincarnation of his lost love Anck-su-namun (Patricia Velásquez), the group joins forces with their ally Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr) in a race against time to save the planet from not only Imhotep but also the diabolical Scorpion King ( Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). Taking place some years after the first film, it sees Rick ( Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn ( Rachel Weisz) happily married and trying to balance their adventures in archaeology with raising their son Alex (Freddie Boath) and wrangling Evelyn's slightly ne'er do-well brother Jonathan ( John Hannah). The 2001 sequel to the 1999 remake of "The Mummy," "The Mummy Returns," is a rollicking piece of adventure cinema that provides plenty of thrills, chills, and spills.