The Scorpion King

About The Scorpion King

The Scorpion King is a 2002 film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kelly Hu, Steven Brand, Ralf Moeller and Grant Heslov, and is directed by Chuck Russell. It is a spin-off prequel to The Mummy series, following the story of Mathayus the Scorpion King, the character featured in The Mummy Returns. The character and plot are to a large extent influenced by the fictional character Conan the Barbarian.

The events of The Scorpion King take place 5000 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 period of Ancient Egyptian history, Scorpion II.

Mathayus, the last true Akkadian mercenary, is assigned to kill Memnon's sorcerer, whose prophetic powers allow Memnon to rule his empire with an iron fist. He sneaks into Memnon's camp and finds his way to the sorcerer's tent. However, his plans change when he discovers that Memnon's sorcerer is actually a beautiful sorceress called Cassandra. He shoots one of the guards and is about to kidnap her, when he is discovered and his brother is killed right in front of him. Just as he is about to be killed, Cassandra protests, saying it wouldn't be wise because the gods favor him and to kill him would bring misfortune. Mathayus ends up half-buried at the point where Memnon's men set off the fire ants. He manages to escape alongside a horse thief named Arpid. Now free again, Mathayus decides to avenge his brother and kill Memnon.