How the film "The Mummy Returns" was filmed: footage from the filming and interesting facts about the film (15 photos)

After the success of The Mummy (1999), studio bosses wanted to see a sequel with the same cast and director in order to collect even more money at the box office, knowing how much audiences were waiting for a sequel. And in 2001, the film “The Mummy Returns” was released.





1. As was the case with the filming of the first part, filming took place not in Egypt, but in Morocco. And during desert filming, crew members also had to endure many inconveniences, including sand storms, heat and attacks from local wildlife.



But the actors, knowing what awaited them, were no longer worried about this. They, so to speak, had already gotten used to everything and endured all the troubles steadfastly. Even actress Rachel Weisz did not complain about the unbearable conditions. According to her, these are just the costs of the profession.

2. The film “The Mummy Returns” was the first serious film work in the life of wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. True, the future actor was disappointed that he got so little screen time.



Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as The Scorpio King

Moreover, he was not even allowed to voice his computer version, which the heroes encounter towards the end of the film. And it was voiced by the vocalist of the famous metal band "Sepultura" Max Cavalera.

But after the release of the second part of “The Mummy,” a spin-off called “The Scorpion King” was launched, where Jones already played the main role.

3. For filming the inside of the O'Connell mansion, famous director Ridley Scott kindly offered his house, which is located in southeast London.

4. Filming the chase on a double-decker bus took a total of two weeks. In order to film this scene, a lot of permission was required to close off parts of the streets of London. And this is not so simple, given that this is a large European city, and not a desert city in Morocco.



The only condition that the authorities set was that filming be carried out exclusively at night.

5. The priests who were chasing the O'Connells were entirely computer generated. But in close-ups (during the fight) they were replaced by disguised actors.



But during the filming of the first part of the film “The Mummy,” Brandon Fraser had to beat the air, simulating a fight with Imhotep’s minions.

6. Remember the funny guy who was reading the newspaper in the bathroom in the background? This is director Stephen Sommers.



7. Visual effects specialist John Burton said that when creating those same pygmy mummies, they were inspired by the critters from the horror film of the same name.



That is, in fact, those same pygmy mummies were a kind of mixture of critters and priests of Imhotep.

8. Actor John Hannah, who played Jonathan, was in great demand at the time, but nevertheless he was looking forward to filming the sequel to The Mummy. To this day he treats this film with special warmth.



Personally, I think John Hannah made the film much more interesting than it could have been. Who knows, he’s definitely in the right place here.

9. Freddie Boath, who played the O'Connells' son Alex, was incredibly happy when he was cast in this role, because he was an incredible fan of the first part of the film. According to the young actor, he watched this film more than 30 times.

Brandon Fraser said that the boy constantly retold him the movie The Mummy, namely all the scenes with Fraser himself.



The director and crew members praised the boy, as he took the filming process very seriously and spoiled very few takes, which literally surprised everyone. The boy was credited with a successful acting future, but he never became a famous actor.



10. Actresses Rachel Weisz and Patricia Velasquez, who played Nefertiti and Anxunamun, refusalThey came from understudies, so in the fight scene between two girls we see the actresses.

Only in one place was a double used. We are talking about a back somersault with a transition into a split performed by Anksunamun. Here, of course, there was no need for an understudy.



The entire crew was so amazed by this scene that everyone literally riveted their eyes to it. Someone even joked that they could sell tickets for this spectacular fight.

11. While watching the film, the audience was unhappy that Anksunamun left her lover to die. After all, over the course of two parts we were told about the sincere love of Anksunamun and Imhotep.



But director Stephen Sommers said that he no longer wanted to return to the love story of these two characters, so he ended it in this way. He thought that he would be the director of the third part of the film, but in the end he was replaced by another director.

Although, I personally liked the scene. The emotions portrayed by actor Arnold Vosloo are simply magnificent. He even felt a little sorry. Well, in the end, he looked at how Evie pulled Rick out, and, smiling after them, let go of his hands. Very much.

12. Initially, they wanted to use an extra to create the image of Imhotep in his mummified state, but actor Arnold Vosloo wanted to do it himself, dressed up in a motion capture suit. When the actor was dressed in this costume, he jokingly called himself a Christmas snack.



13. At the beginning of each shooting day, poor Arnold Vosle had to shave his entire body from head to toe. Of course, he didn’t do it himself, but he had to endure a lot, especially since at first he was shaved with wax, which became a real nightmare for him.

But the actor was willing to do anything for this role. As Vosloo admitted, he was ready to play Imhotep for the rest of his life, even if it was the film “The Mummy 25.” This picture not only brought him popularity, but in principle remains his favorite to this day.

14. The same airship on which the heroes fly is not computer graphics at all. For filming, a real-size model of the airship was built. Computer graphics were used only in general shots.



15. With a budget of 98 million dollars, the film “The Mummy Returns” grossed as much as 435 million.

16. According to the original idea, the Medjay, played by actor Oded Ferr, was supposed to fight with the Scorpion King himself and die at his hands. But in the end, Sommers deleted this scene from the script, once again saving the Medjay's life. For this, by the way, the actor was very grateful to him.



Oded Furr and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

17. The army of Medjai warriors was played by only 200 extras. But thanks to computer manipulation, the army was increased to 10,000 people.

18. Many criticized the computer image of the Scorpio King, and for good reason. The graphics turned out to be rather weak and even rather too cartoonish. But this is not the fault of the special effects specialists. They were simply given too little time to create this creature, so they did not have time to work on it properly, since the picture already had to be submitted.