After making his name in the wrestling industry, Dwayne Johnson finally decided to try his hand at acting and The Mummy Returns (2001) helped his dreams become a reality. Unfortunately, the role given to him was not what his fans would have imagined at all. Dwayne Johnson played the role of The Scorpion King, an unintentionally hilarious CGI demigod.
While the character was supposed to be intimidating, viewers couldn’t help but spare a laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. A giant scorpion with Dwayne Johnson’s face? There’s no way the audience was going to have nightmares about this. However, the horrible presentation of the character was not Dwayne Johnson’s fault.
Why Was Dwayne Johnson’s Scorpion King So Laughable?
The Mummy Returns marked Dwayne Johnson’s entry into the film industry and how. In the film, Arnold Vosloo’s Imhotep betrays Brendan Fraser’s Rick O’Connell by summoning the Scorpion King and tricking him into attacking Rick. While the scene had the full potential to be nerve-wracking, Johnson’s face on a scorpion just didn’t do it for the audience.
As per Far Out Magazine, Johnson made $5 million for his part in The Mummy Returns, the highest first salary for an actor ever. So, why was his role so underwhelming to look at? Well, let’s not forget that the film was released in 2001 and motion capture was just in its early stages, according to Far Out Magazine. The outlet also stated that after filming the prologue for the film, Johnson was nowhere to be found, thanks to his WWE commitments.
This meant that the VFX team had to work with the material they already had in hand, without reference points or a scan of the actor to properly digitalize him. On top of all that, the team was on a time crunch leading to an unintentionally funny Scorpion King.
Additionally, the co-founder of the heavy metal band, Sepultura, had to be specially brought in to provide the growls and grunts of the character.
Brendan Fraser Never Once Interacted with Dwayne Johnson
Despite being in the same film, there was not one moment on the set when lead actor Fraser bumped into Johnson. This is despite the fact that he battled it out with the CGI character towards the end of the film.
During his appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Fraser revealed that he had to talk to a stick for all the scenes where he and Johnson’s character were in the same frame. Talking about greens screens, Drew Barrymore stated that if she ever had to talk or act to a tennis ball, she “would fail miserably.” To this, the Oscar-winning actor replied,
“I’m really good at it. I happen to be really good at it. You know why? Because in ‘The Mummy Returns,’ Dwayne The Rock Johnson was just a piece of tape on a stick.”
Fraser finally met his co-star at the film’s reception. He told Variety,
“The first time I met him was at the reception after The Mummy Returns, and we hadn’t met in person before that actually although we were fighting on screen. Every time I worked with him, he was just a piece of tape on a stick, so it was nice to go, ‘Hey man how are you? We finally meet.’”
Despite the CGI fail, the film went on to make $435 million at the box office, a few million dollars above what The Mummy made. If that’s not enough, The Mummy Returns gave birth to a spin-off film franchise based on the Scorpion King.
You can stream The Mummy Returns on Hulu.
