The story of The Mummy Returns - which went into production in Morocco last spring and will open in the US almost exactly two years after the original - is pretty much ‘He’s back, and this time there are more of him’. It is 1933, eight years after dashing Foreign Legion lieutenant Rick O’Connell (Fraser) and fearless Egyptologist Evelyn (Weisz) unwittingly unleash the 3,000-year-old Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo). Now, they’re happily married and living in London. They also have a son called Alex, played by eight-year-old newcomer Freddie Boath - who, as it turns out, was something of a fan of the original film.
“He knew everything about The Mummy: his mother told me honestly he must have seen it at least 30 or 40 times,” laughs Fraser. “Kids these days! He was quick to remind us about any nuance we may have overlooked: he gave the script supervisor a run for her job. He really threw himself into the work by buying into the reality of the situation. I had a wonderful time reliving my kid-dom with Freddie!”
But there is little time for relaxation for Fraser’s character in The Mummy Returns. Imhotep is once more resurrected, this time from the vaults of the British Museum, along with another, even more destructive force. And Rick and Evelyn have to head back to Egypt (where Evelyn begins to realise she had an earlier life which may provide the key to her present one) to rescue Alex, who has been kidnapped. Here, they encounter the Scorpion King, a fierce Egyptian general who, millennia earlier, had sold his soul to the god Anubis in exchange for victory.
Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo)
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“A lot of people are fascinated by ancient Egypt, including me,” says Sommers. “We go back to those times in The Mummy Returns, not just in the opening sequence, but throughout the story. It interweaves The Scorpion King’s primitive beginnings 5,000 years ago; Imhotep’s history in the Pharaoh’s court 3,000 years ago; and the O’Connells’ current life in London in the thirties.”
As a result of his deal with Anubis, the Scorpion King and his army of dog-headed warriors have remained suspended between life and death ever since, always ready to wreak havoc one more time. And it wouldn’t be a Mummy movie if somehow the King and his crew didn’t get unsuspended, posing yet another threat to Rick and Evelyn.
Rick and Evelyn’s son, Alex (Freddie Boath)
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The part of the Scorpion King represents the movie debut of WWF wrestling star The Rock, who took to acting like a duck to water, even if he didn’t particularly enjoy having to start make-up for the role daily at 2am. “He was a natural,” says Sommers, “and his charm and confidence will take him far as an actor.”
Impressive though The Rock undoubtedly is in the role, however, he is in danger of being pushed into the background by the special effects creatures who are unleashed on thirties London and into the Egypt of 3,000 BC. “I think the confidence of knowing that the first movie worked so well allowed Steve to be bolder this time,” says Scottish actor John Hannah, who played Evelyn’s brother in the first movie and reprises the role in this one. “Everything is bigger now -
the stunts, the effects, the whole concept.”
