The Scorpion King is a
2002The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost...
film starring The Rock,
Michael Clarke DuncanMichael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.-Early life:...
,
Kelly HuKelly Ann Hu is an American actress and former fashion model who held the Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993 titles. Of Chinese, Hawaiian and English origins, she played a pioneering role in the representation of Asian Americans in the United States, and actively encourages Asian...
,
Steven BrandSteven Brand is a Scottish actor.He made his United States of America screen debut in Universal's The Scorpion King as Memnon, evil warlord and arch nemesis of Mathayus, played by The Rock...
,
Ralf MoellerRalf Rudolf Moeller is a German and American actor and former competitive bodybuilder.Moeller was born in Recklinghausen, Germany. He began bodybuilding at age 17 and was the German Champion by 1984. He competed in the 1988 Mr. Olympia alongside Lee Haney, Shawn Ray and other notable champions. He...
and
Grant HeslovGrant Heslov is an American actor and Academy Award-nominated film producer and screenwriter. His acting credits include films like True Lies, Dante's Peak, Enemy of the State, The Scorpion King and Good Night, and Good Luck. and several credits in TV series...
, and is directed by
Chuck RussellChuck Russell is an American film director, film producer and actor.-Filmography:*Ramayana *Mandrake the Magician *Collateral...
. It is a
spin-offA spin-off is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one, such as television series based on a pre-existing one, or a new company formed from a university research group or business incubator...
to
The MummyThe Mummy is a 1999 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Brendan Fraser, and Rachel Weisz, with Arnold Vosloo in the title role as the reanimated mummy. The film features substantial dialogue in ancient Egyptian language, spoken with the assistance of a...
series, following the story of Mathayus the Scorpion King, the character featured in
The Mummy ReturnsThe Mummy Returns is a 2001 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez and Arnold Vosloo. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film The Mummy, which primarily took place in 1926, and is set seven...
.
The events of
The Scorpion King take place 5,000 years before those in
The Mummy Returns, and reveal Mathayus' origins and his rise to power as the Scorpion King. The name itself is a reference to a real king of the
protodynastic periodThe Protodynastic Period of Egypt refers to the period of time at the very end of the Predynastic Period. It is equivalent to the archaeological phase known as Naqada III...
of
Ancient EgyptAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and...
ian history,
Scorpion IIScorpion, also King Scorpion or Scorpion II refers to the second of two kings so-named of Upper Egypt during the Protodynastic Period....
.
Plot
Mathayus (The Rock), the last true Akkadian mercenary, along with his two brothers, is hired to kill a
sorcerer-Gaming:* Sorcerer * Sorcerer * Sorcerer , a character class in the game Dungeons & Dragons* Wizard , a class found in several roleplaying games-Music:...
, whose prophetic powers allow the vicious Memnon (
Steven BrandSteven Brand is a Scottish actor.He made his United States of America screen debut in Universal's The Scorpion King as Memnon, evil warlord and arch nemesis of Mathayus, played by The Rock...
) to rule his empire with an iron fist. He sneaks into Memnon's camp and finds his way to the sorcerer's tent, where he discovers that Memnon's sorcerer is actually a beautiful sorceress called
CassandraIn Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Her beauty caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy...
(
Kelly HuKelly Ann Hu is an American actress and former fashion model who held the Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993 titles. Of Chinese, Hawaiian and English origins, she played a pioneering role in the representation of Asian Americans in the United States, and actively encourages Asian...
). He is discovered and eventually caught, and his brothers are killed. Before Memnon can kill Mathayus, Cassandra protests, saying it wouldn't be wise because the gods favor him and to kill him would bring misfortune. Unable to kill Mathayus himself, Memnon has him buried to his neck in sand for
fire antFire ants are a variety of stinging ants with over 280 species worldwide. They have several common names including ginger ants and tropical fire ants , aka-kami-ari , fourmis de feu , Feuerameisen , and Langgam ....
s to come eat his head. With the help of the horse thief Arpid (
Grant HeslovGrant Heslov is an American actor and Academy Award-nominated film producer and screenwriter. His acting credits include films like True Lies, Dante's Peak, Enemy of the State, The Scorpion King and Good Night, and Good Luck. and several credits in TV series...
), he manages to escape. Now free again, Mathayus decides to avenge his brothers and kill Memnon.
At Memnon's palace, Cassandra tells Memnon that his armies will conquer the west and that Queen Isis (
Sherri HowardSherri Howard . is a former American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She is the older sister of 1988 relay teammate Denean Howard.She competed for the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, U.S...
) and her soldiers will scatter to the four winds. Memnon then gives orders to his men to have his soldiers prepare for the final campaign. When Cassandra tells Memnon that rivers of blood will never bring peace, Memnon responds that they can bring obedience and that when he becomes the King of Legends, Cassandra will take her place beside him as his queen. Cassandra tells him that if she becomes his lover, she will lose her prophetic sight, but Memnon says that once he destroys all his enemies, he will no longer need her gift of sight.
Mathayus gets into
GomorrahSodom and Gomorrah , Arabic: عمورة ʿAmūrah, Greek Γόμορρα) were two cities in the Bible which were destroyed by God....
with the help of Arpid and a thieving little boy, Mathayus sneaks into Memnon's castle. He attempts to kill Memnon with his arrows, but when the boy who helped him gets caught and charged with stealing, Mathayus saves the boy by shooting the axe out of Tekmet's hands as he was about to cut the boy's hands off. This exposes him, and Mathayus is forced to retreat. After evading the guards, he literally falls into Cassandra's bath house and kidnaps her by going through its drain, Cassandra emerging from a fountain in the city, naked. Mathayus manages to wrap her up and get her into another outfit. He reveals that while he was hired to kill her, he thinks she can be more useful as bait to catch Memnon. The pair escape the city and meet up with Arpid and Mathayus's camel, heading out to the Valley of the Dead. Later that night, Cassandra tries to escape only to be tripped by a rope that is tied from her ankle to Mathayus. During their struggle, Cassandra tells Mathayus that she's not planning on returning to Memnon since he had her since she was a child. Mathayus frees her, but warns her that as long as she remains with him, she will be protected against even more dangers.
The next day, in the Valley of the Dead, Mathayus spots a small group of Memnon's soldiers looking for them, led by Memnon's right-hand man, Thorak (
Ralf MoellerRalf Rudolf Moeller is a German and American actor and former competitive bodybuilder.Moeller was born in Recklinghausen, Germany. He began bodybuilding at age 17 and was the German Champion by 1984. He competed in the 1988 Mr. Olympia alongside Lee Haney, Shawn Ray and other notable champions. He...
). Mathayus hides Arpid and Cassandra under a blanket, and rides off to challenge the soldiers under cover of a sandstorm. Mathayus brings down all of the soldiers until Thorak is apparently the only one left. After a brief struggle, Mathayus impales Thorak in the stomach, but Thorak uses his last moments to use his secret weapon: An arrow drenched in scorpion venom, which he uses to stab Mathayus in the leg before dying. The sandstorm passes, and Arpid and Cassandra find Mathayus half-dead from the poison. That night, Cassandra manages to heal him with her powers, despite the risk it poses to her own life, and says from then on Mathayus will have the blood of scorpions in him - hence the name "Scorpion King." Mathayus wonders why she would help him, and Cassandra explains that she believes he can save the people and free them from Memnon's tyranny.
Deeper in the desert, the trio catch up with Philos (
Bernard HillBernard Hill is a British actor of film, stage and television. In a career spanning thirty years, he is best known for playing Captain Edward John Smith in Titanic, King Théoden in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and as the Warden of San Quentin Prison in the Clint Eastwood film True Crime...
), Memnon's court magician who managed to escape from the city, and has been working in the desert, where he has perfected his explosive powder. Overjoyed to see Cassandra safe, Philos joins forces with Mathayus.
As their journey continues, they meet up with Balthazar (
Michael Clarke DuncanMichael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.-Early life:...
), the leader of Memnon's enemies, and the two join forces, after a very intense battle between Mathayus and Balthazar in which they eventually realize they are on the same side. During a celebration at the camp of Balthazar's people, Cassandra has a vision of Memnon destroying the people and killing Mathayus. But Mathayus is undeterred, saying that he will kill Memnon. After an intimate night with Mathayus, Cassandra loses her powers of sight simultaneous with her
virginityA virgin is, originally, a woman who has never had sexual intercourse. Virginity is the state of being a virgin. It is derived from the Latin virgo, which means "sexually inexperienced woman", used typically of adolescents, but also of older women, and even goddesses.As in Latin, the English word...
. Now powerless, Cassandra returns to Memnon to keep him from attacking the camp.
Mathayus and Balthazar go after her. A huge battle occurs between Memnon and his armies, and Mathayus and Balthazar and his people. Mathayus is shot by an arrow but recovers, and uses the same arrow to kill Memnon. The battle ends in victory for Balthazar and his people. Mathayus is crowned
kingKing may be a title for a head of state.King may also refer to:-Places:* King, Ontario, Canada* King, Indiana, United States* King, North Carolina, United States* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin, United States...
with Cassandra by his side as
queenA queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles...
. She has not lost her powers of sight, that pretense was employed to keep Memnon from taking advantage of her. She tells him that his rule will be peaceful and prosperous, but no kingdom lasts forever. Mathayus responds that the kingdom will make its own destiny.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|
| The Rock |
Mathayus |
| Steven Brand Steven Brand is a Scottish actor.He made his United States of America screen debut in Universal's The Scorpion King as Memnon, evil warlord and arch nemesis of Mathayus, played by The Rock...
|
Memnon |
Michael Clarke DuncanMichael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.-Early life:...
|
Balthazar |
Kelly HuKelly Ann Hu is an American actress and former fashion model who held the Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993 titles. Of Chinese, Hawaiian and English origins, she played a pioneering role in the representation of Asian Americans in the United States, and actively encourages Asian...
|
Cassandra |
| Bernard Hill Bernard Hill is a British actor of film, stage and television. In a career spanning thirty years, he is best known for playing Captain Edward John Smith in Titanic, King Théoden in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and as the Warden of San Quentin Prison in the Clint Eastwood film True Crime...
|
Philos |
| Grant Heslov Grant Heslov is an American actor and Academy Award-nominated film producer and screenwriter. His acting credits include films like True Lies, Dante's Peak, Enemy of the State, The Scorpion King and Good Night, and Good Luck. and several credits in TV series...
|
Arpid |
| Ralf Moeller Ralf Rudolf Moeller is a German and American actor and former competitive bodybuilder.Moeller was born in Recklinghausen, Germany. He began bodybuilding at age 17 and was the German Champion by 1984. He competed in the 1988 Mr. Olympia alongside Lee Haney, Shawn Ray and other notable champions. He...
|
Thorak |
| Branscombe Richmond Branscombe Richmond is an American character actor and stuntman. He is sometimes credited in films as Richmond Branscombe, Ranscombe Richmon, Ranhome Quickman or Branscom Richmond....
|
Jesup |
Peter FacinelliPeter Facinelli is an American actor, best-known as the star of FOX's 2002 television series Fastlane. He played Carlisle Cullen in the film adaptation of Twilight.-Early life:...
|
Takmet |
| Roger Rees Roger Rees is a Welsh-American actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the character Robin Colcord on the American television show Cheers...
|
King Pheron |
| Sherri Howard Sherri Howard . is a former American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She is the older sister of 1988 relay teammate Denean Howard.She competed for the United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, U.S...
|
Queen Isis |
| Conrad Roberts |
Chieftain |
| Joseph Ruskin Joseph Ruskin is an American actor.He married Patricia Herd in 1959 and was later divorced in 1976. Ruskin is one of only 32 actors or actresses to have starred in both the original Star Trek and then in one of the spin offs...
|
Tribal Leader |
| Esteban Cueto |
Third Akkadian |
| Nils Allen Stewart |
Torturer |
Reception
The film had mixed reviews.
The Scorpion King currently holds a 40% "Rotten" rating on
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical cliché of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad.- History :...
, based on 127 reviews.
MetacriticMetacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported, based on 30 reviews, an average rating of 45 out of 100.
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter.He is known for his film review column and for two television programs Sneak Previews and Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, which he co-hosted for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel...
of the
Chicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by the Sun-Times Media Group, which filed for bankruptcy protection on March 31, 2009.-History:...
gave the film three stars (out of four), saying: "It has high energy, the action never stops, the dialogue knows it's funny, and The Rock has the authority to play the role and the fortitude to keep a straight face."
James BerardinelliJames Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Biography:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and spent his early childhood in Morristown. At the age of nine, he moved to Cherry Hill. He attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1985 through 1990, obtaining both a BS and...
of ReelViews gave the film two stars (out of four), saying: "It's possible to make an engaging action/adventure picture of this sort, but
The Scorpion King isn't it." Dennis Harvey of
VarietyVariety is a weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the Daily...
gave a positive review, saying the film "rouses excitement mostly from stuntwork and thesp agility rather than CGI excess."
Nathan Rabin of
The OnionThe Onion is an American "news satire" organization. It features satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news as well as an entertainment newspaper and website known as The A.V. Club...
's
A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. It comes included with the print editions of The Onion, and maintains its own separate website. Unlike its parent publication, The A.V. Club is non-satirical, though it strives for a humorous, snarky tone...
gave the film a mildly positive review, calling it "prototypical summer-movie fare, designed to be consumed, enjoyed, and forgotten all at once."
Owen GleibermanOwen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
of
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books and popular culture. Unlike celebrity-focused publications US Weekly, People, and In Touch Weekly, EWs primary concentration is on entertainment...
gave the film a score of C+, calling it "plodding and obvious" but adding that The Rock "holds it together." Jonathan Foreman of the
New York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
gave a negative review, saying that
The Scorpion King "has none of the qualities -- epic sweep, relative originality and heartfelt bloodthirstiness -- that made
ConanConan the Barbarian is a 1982 film by director John Milius and is recognized as the acting breakthrough of Arnold Schwarzenegger who had previously been a famous bodybuilder....
so trashily entertaining."
Stephen Holden of the New York Times was not impressed, saying that "the entire movie looks like an overblown cartoon." Also unimpressed was Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post, who said the film is "ultimately undone by its sheer busyness." Mick LaSalle of the
San Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireSan Francisco Chronicle is Northern California's largest newspaper, and one of the largest in the United States, serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area, but distributed throughout...
, however, enjoyed the film, calling it "a genial action movie that succeeds by finding the right tone (fairly light) and the correct pace (medium fast) and by placing appealing characters at its center." Stephanie Zacharek of
Salon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online magazine, with content updated each weekday. American liberal politics is its major focus, but it covers a range of issues. Reviews and articles about music, books and films are also a prominent feature of the site....
also praised the film, saying: "If you can think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon, I want to hear about it."
Track listing
- "I Stand Alone
"I Stand Alone" is Godsmack's second single off their third studio album, Faceless. It reached number one on the Mainstream Rock chart and number twenty on the Modern Rock chart....
" by GodsmackGodsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band comprises founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin...
- "Set It Off (Tweaker
Chris Vrenna is an American musician, Grammy-winning producer, engineer, remixer, songwriter, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna also played drums for the industrial/rock band Nine Inch Nails from 1989 until 1997...
Remix)" by P.O.D.P.O.D. is an American rock band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. They have released seven studio albums and have sold over ten million records worldwide...
- "Break You" by Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool is a four-piece hard rock/heavy metal band that was formed in 1996 in Dallas, Texas, United States. They are currently signed to Eleven Seven Music and have released three albums, their most recent being Full Circle, which was released on August 7, 2007. Each of their three albums has...
- "Streamline" by System of a Down
System of a Down is an Armenian-American rock band from Glendale, California, formed in 1994...
- "To Whom It May Concern" by Creed
Creed is an American rock band from Tallahassee, Florida that became popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The band disbanded in 2004 after three multi-platinum albums, selling an estimated 35 million records worldwide, including 26 million records in the United States alone...
- "Yanking Out My Heart" by Nickelback
Nickelback is a Grammy award nominated Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta, formed in 1995. Founded by members Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake and then-drummer Brandon Kroeger. Nickelback is one of the most commercially successful Canadian groups, having sold 30 million records worldwide...
- "Losing My Grip" by Hoobastank
Hoobastank is an American rock band, best known for their 2004 hit "The Reason" and other hits "Crawling in the Dark" and "Running Away". They formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, with singer Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen...
- "Only the Strong" by Flaw
- "Iron Head
"Iron Head" is a song on Rob Zombie's second solo album The Sinister Urge. It features heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne contributing his vocals on the chorus. The song was co-written by guitarist Riggs. The name comes from a combination of the song titles of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" and White...
" by Rob ZombieRobert Bartleh Cummings , better known by his stage name, Rob Zombie, is a Grammy-nominated American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the metal band White Zombie....
Feat. Ozzy OsbourneJohn Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English singer-songwriter, whose career has now spanned four decades. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead vocalist of pioneering British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and eventually achieved a multi-platinum solo career which revolutionized the heavy metal genre...
- "My Life" by 12 Stones
- Band History :12 Stones was formed in 2000 in Mandeville, Louisiana, a suburb north of New Orleans. The first line-up consisted of Paul McCoy , Kevin Dorr , Eric Weaver , and Patrick Quave who was later replaced by Aaron Gainer....
- "Along the Way" by Mushroomhead
Mushroomhead is an alternative metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1993 in Cleveland's Warehouse District, the band's music can be described as a synthesis of alternative, heavy metal and electro-industrial.- Mushroomhead, Superbuick and M3 :...
- "Breathless" by Lifer
Lifer was a five-piece nu metal music group from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The group went under various names and only released one studio album in 2001.-Career:...
- "Corrected" by Sevendust
Sevendust is an American metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. They were originally signed to TVT Records, but then released their fifth album with Winedark Records in the US, and Roadrunner Records overseas. Currently, they are signed to their own label 7 Bros...
- "Burn It Black
Burn It Black is the first full-length studio album of the American hard rock band Injected. It was produced by Butch Walker and released on Feb. 26, 2002 on Island Records.-Track listing:#"When She Comes" – 2:33#"Burn It Black" – 2:42...
" by InjectedInjected is an Atlanta hard rock band inspired by acts such as Helmet, Metallica and Mötley Crüe.-History:After forming in the mid-90's by a group of high school friends and spending years gathering a strong following on the Atlanta rock scene, Injected released its major label debut, Burn It...
- "27" by Breaking Point
- "Glow" by Coal Chamber
Coal Chamber was an American nu metal band from Los Angeles, California. The band formed in 1994 and disbanded in 2003. Former vocalist Dez Fafara and guitarist Meegs Rascon started She's In Pain in 1992. The two decided to create Coal Chamber in 1994. Their first drummer John Thor was eventually...
Trivia
- Some of the scorpions depicted in this film were computer-generated; however, others were live emperor scorpion
The emperor scorpion or imperial scorpion is a species of scorpion native to Africa. The emperor is one of the largest species of scorpion in the world, with adults averaging about 8 inches in length...
(Pandinus imperator) specimens, which are commonly kept as exotic household pets.
- More scenes had to be shot due to the film being around 70 minutes long after being edited.
- The Rock has said that he intentionally shied away from using any trademarks of his WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is a publicly-traded, privately-controlled integrated media and sports entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
character Dwayne JohnsonDwayne Johnson also known by his former ring name The Rock, and occasionally credited as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. Johnson was a collegiate football player, and in 1991, he was part of the University of Miami's national championship team...
, in order to give the Scorpion King character a life of its own. The only exception was "The People's Eyebrow," which he does in response to another character's reference to a harem. He said he included the People's Eyebrow to acknowledge the "millions and millions" of The Rock's fans.
- The "Gomorrah Bazaar" sequences were filmed on a re-dressed Spartacus
Spartacus is a historical drama movie directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel of the same name by Howard Fast about the historical life of Spartacus and the Third Servile War. The film stars Kirk Douglas as rebellious slave Spartacus and Laurence Olivier as his foe, the Roman general...
set on the backlot at Universal StudiosUniversal Studios , a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the six major American movie studios. Its main motion picture production/distribution arm is called Universal Pictures. Its production studios are located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California...
.
- Marissa McMahon, Vince McMahon's daughter-in-law, has a small scene as the woman selling birds of paradise in the Bazaar.
- While filming the fight scene between Mathayus and Balthazar, Michael Clarke Duncan accidentally leaned too far forward, allowing The Rock's elbow to make direct contact with his jaw, knocking him to the ground. Later, Duncan used makeup to make the injury seem worse than it actually was, as a prank on Johnson (The Rock).
- The cave that the Rock and the bandits come out of is the bat cave from the 1966 Batman
Batman, often promoted as Batman: The Movie, is a 1966 film and the first full-length theatrical adaptation of the DC Comics character of the same name. Released by 20th Century Fox, the film starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin....
film.
- The Rock's salary of $5.5 million made the Guinness Book Of World Records for the highest salary for a first-time leading man.
- Early in the production the villain role was written for Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-Fat SBS is a Hong Kong Film Award-winning actor. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard-Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
. But Chow's manager vetoed this saying that Chow never plays villains and that doing so would betray his fans. Chow Yun-Fat would later go on to play Pirate Captain Sao Feng in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, as well as Emperor Ping in Curse of the Golden FlowerCurse of the Golden Flower , also known literally as When Golden Armour Covers the Entire City, is a 2006 Chinese wuxia film directed by Zhang Yimou....
, although since in the former Sao Feng ultimately redeems himself by helping the film's heroes, he could hardly be classified as a villain.
- The guttural screams made by Dwayne Johnson were provided by heavy metal vocalist Max Cavalera
Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter of Italian origins. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the metal band Sepultura, before forming Soulfly in the late 1990s...
.
- Kelly Hu originally turned down the role of the sorceress. It was then given to Meg Ryan
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra , professionally known as Meg Ryan, is an American film actress whose lead roles in five 1990s romantic comedies - When Harry Met Sally..., Sleepless in Seattle, French Kiss, City of Angels and You've Got Mail - grossed over $870 million worldwide.-Early years:Ryan was...
, who declined. Kelly Hu later accepted the role.
- In the summer of 2002, Brock Lesnar
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist as well as a former professional and amateur wrestler...
beat the Rock for the WWE ChampionshipThe World Wrestling Entertainment Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling Entertainment . It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship and ECW Championship. It was established...
. Ironicially, in 2008, Lesnar beat Randy CoutureRandy Duane Couture is an American mixed martial artist, Greco-Roman wrestler, actor and a 3 time former heavyweight champion and 2 time light-heavyweight champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship...
, who was the star of The Scorpion King 2 for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
- Alternative metal band Cold
Cold is an American post-grunge band, formed in 1996 in Jacksonville, Florida. With two gold-albums under their belt, Cold has sold over one million records. On November 17, 2006, Ward announced on MySpace that, after a period of uncertainty since that February, the group had decided to disband...
was originally slated to be on the soundtrack and recorded two versions of a song titled "Sting Me" but the song was declined and never included. Both versions are currently only available through limited peer-to-peer networks and torrent sites.
- When the harem girls have relieved Mathayus of his weapons and called in the attacking guards, Mathayus ducks behind a huge gong, cuts it down to use as a shield, and rolls it out of the room and off the edge of the building. This is an homage to the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise, and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
.
Prequel
A
prequelA prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel .-History:Though the word "Prequel" is of...
titled
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior was released on August 19, 2008 in the United States, and will be released on
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
and
Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the standard DVD format. Its main uses are for storing high-definition video, PlayStation 3 games, and other data, with up to 25 GB per single layered, and 50 GB per dual layered disc...
.
Michael CoponMichael Sowell Copon is an American actor, model, and singer. He is perhaps best known for his role of Felix Taggaro in the television series One Tree Hill and as Vin Keahi in the television series Beyond the Break...
(
Power Rangers Time Force) replaces Dwayne Johnson as a younger Mathayus.