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The Mummy Returns
Promotional poster for The Mummy Returns
Directed by	Stephen Sommers
Produced by	Sean Daniel James Jacks
Written by	Stephen Sommers
Starring	Brendan Fraser Rachel Weisz Arnold Vosloo John Hannah The Rock
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Cinematography	Adrian Biddle
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	May 4, 2001 (USA)
Running time	130 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$98,000,000 US (est.)
Gross revenue	$433,013,274
Preceded by	The Mummy
Followed by	The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Mummy Returns is a 2001 American movie starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and Arnold Vosloo, and is directed by Stephen Sommers. It is a sequel to the 1999 movie The Mummy, and is set 8 years later, in 1933. Filming took place in London, Morocco, and Jordan.

The Mummy Returns also had a 2002 spin-off The Scorpion King, which is set 5000 years prior and focuses on The Scorpion King, who is introduced in The Mummy Returns.

The movie begins before the gates of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes in 3067 BC as a warrior known only as the Scorpion King leads his army against the defenders on his road to conquest. The Scorpion King loses a decisive battle and is forced to retreat into the desert with what is left of his army. As his soldiers die one by one from the desert's heat, only the Scorpion King is left alive. Swearing an oath to the god Anubis, the Scorpion King's soul is exchanged for his life and the power to defeat his enemies. Almost immediately, a great oasis called Ahm Shere is formed around him, and he returns to Thebes with the jackal-headed Army of Anubis to exact his revenge. When he completes his conquest, his soul is taken by Anubis as he ordered to serve for all-time. Exactly 5000 years in the future, in 1933, we rejoin the O'Connells eight years after their previous adventure.

During an archaeological dig, Evie and Rick find another chest, but this one does not contain the book of the dead or any canopic jars. Instead, it contains the bracelet of Anubis. Back in London, their son Alex puts the bracelet on, providing him with directions to the oasis of Ahm Shere. He is captured by Imhotep who has been resurrected again by Meela Nais, the reincarnation of his love Anck-Su-Namun, in order to lead him to the oasis. The instructions are given to him in stages, and he leaves clues to the next location for his parents to find. O'Connell finds Izzy, a pilot who helps them catch up with the kidnappers in his airship. As they head off to thwart Imhotep, the O'Connells learn of their connections to Imhotep and the Scorpion King himself: in a past life, Evie was Nefertiri, daughter of Seti I and protector of the Bracelet of Anubis. Rick is a Medjai, trusted to protect Evelyn. Together with their son, they make up the 3 sides of a pyramid. When the bracelet reaches the temple, it will awaken the Scorpion King who will seek to reclaim his grasp on the world with the aid of the army of Anubis.

As the two groups arrive at the oasis where the Scorpion King's temple lies, the cultists are attacked by mummified pygmies and ambushed by Rick, Evie, Jonathan, and Ardeth Bey, the medjai from the previous film. The cultists are all killed with the exception of their leader. Rick must then run with Alex to the temple before the sun hits it, or his son will die. However, the Army of Anubis is awakened, and the tribes of the Medjai are forced to hold them off, despite the vastly superior numbers of the army. Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun walk into the pyramid courtyard and stab Evie to death. Imhotep reaches the Scorpion King's lair, but his powers are stripped from him by Anubis, who wishes him to fight the King as a mortal. Despite his new disadvantage, Imhotep summons the Scorpion King, feigning allegiance to the King, who then focuses his wrath on Rick. While this is happening Alex finds the book of the dead and revives his mother, who then attacks Anck-Su-Namun.

Rick sees a series of hieroglyphics on the walls, and realizes how to kill the Scorpion King; a scepter that Jonathan has been carrying is the Spear of Osiris, which is the only weapon that can kill the Scorpion King. Although Johnathan throws the spear and Imhotep nearly delivers the blow himself, Rick manages to be the one to impale the Scorpion King, and orders his foe to "go to Hell, and take your friends with you". Upon saying this, the Scorpion King turns into ash. The Army of Anubis, locked in combat with the Medjai, also turns to ash.

Rick and Imhotep race to escape the collapsing temple, as a chasm presumably leading to the underworld appears, complete with souls lining its sides reaching out for them. Rick and Imhotep fall in, but cling onto the edges of the opening. Evelyn and Anck-Su-Namun enter. Rick tells Evelyn to leave, but she risks falling debris to save her husband. Imhotep cries for Anck-Su-Namun to save him as well, but she abandons him and flees. Shocked and heartbroken, Imhotep realizes his true love, whom he cheated death twice to be with, has now betrayed him, in contrast to Rick and Evelyn. He gives Rick and Evelyn a sad, envious smile before willingly letting go, allowing himself to fall into the chasm, being torn to pieces by the souls lining the walls in the process. Meanwhile, Anck-Su-Namun flees on her own, but she falls into a pit of scarabs and scorpions and is soon killed. Rick and Evelyn escape with Alex and meet up with Izzy's airship which arrives just before the oasis is destroyed. They escape unharmed and with a massive diamond that Jonathan pulls from the top of the pyramid.

See also: Characters related to The Mummy (1999 film)

The Mummy Returns video game was released on the Playstation 2 and Game Boy Color. On the Playstation 2 version, the player can choose to play as Rick, with the game ending similar to the movie, or Imhotep, with him taking control of Anubis's army.

This film received mixed critical response, but was a box office hit in 2001. Previously, Stephen Sommers directed Deep Rising, The Jungle Book, as well as The Mummy. His next film was Van Helsing in 2004.

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• The Mummy Returns at Box Office Mojo