Anubis accepts, conjuring an oasis and golden pyramid, and giving the King an army of jackal-like warriors to conquer Egypt.

In 1939 A.D., nine years after the defeat of Imhotep,[a] Rick O'Connell and his wife, Evelyn, explore ancient ruins with their son, Alex, finding the Bracelet of Anubis.

Evelyn is kidnapped by a cult who resurrect Imhotep with the Book of the Dead, wishing to use his power to defeat the King; this would give them command of Anubis's army.

The cult, led by museum curator Baltus Hafez, includes enforcer Lock-Nah and Meela Nais, the physical reincarnation of Imhotep's love Anck-su-namun.

Rick and Alex set out to rescue Evelyn with the help of her brother Jonathan, who had gotten his hands on a golden scepter, and the Medjai Ardeth Bay, who has returned to help them.

Rick discovers hieroglyphs explaining that Jonathan's scepter is the mystic Spear of Osiris, the only weapon capable of killing the King.

Writer-director Stephen Sommers was approached by Universal after the film's opening weekend, and within a day, he began developing ideas for The Mummy Returns.

[5] Sommers had already been contemplating a sequel during the production of the original film, aiming to expand the story with a larger scale, enhanced special effects, and fresh adventures for the familiar characters.

The story intertwines multiple timelines, exploring the ancient past of the Scorpion King, Imhotep, and the O'Connells' present-day life.

[5] Sommers was eager to reunite the original cast, including Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah, for the sequel.

[5] Weisz and Patricia Velasquez trained extensively in ancient Japanese martial arts to portray more physically demanding roles.

Although Johnson was new to acting, Sommers felt his natural charisma was well-suited for the role of a fearsome warrior who made a pact with the god Anubis.

[5] Principal photography began in the deserts of Morocco, with additional second-unit work filmed in Jordan, including locations like the gorges at Petra.

The filmmakers focused on creating a seamless integration between the live-action sequences and CGI, utilizing detailed camera tracking and motion-capture technology.

Arnold Vosloo, who reprised his role as Imhotep, faced the challenge of acting alongside these digital elements, often reacting to creatures and environments that were only added in post-production.

[5] Despite advancements in CGI, the Scorpion King's appearance was widely criticized for its awkward facial features and uncanny valley effect.

[8][9] The visual effects team faced challenges due to limited reference material of Dwayne Johnson, as his WWE commitments prevented detailed facial scans.

[10] As a result, the digital representation of Johnson lacked accuracy, standing out as one of the film's most criticized visual effects, despite improvements in other characters like Imhotep.

The site's consensus states: "In The Mummy Returns, the special effects are impressive, but the characters seem secondary to the computer-generated imagery.

"[26] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two and a half stars (out of four), calling it "hollow, lightweight entertainment—not unpleasant, but far from the summer's definitive action/adventure flick.

[27] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, praising its "constant plot turns, cheeky sensibility and omnipresent action sequences.

"[29] Rene Rodriguez of The Miami Herald said, "Twelve-year-olds weaned on Nintendo may not mind, but anyone who remembers the tactile thrill of an alarmingly real boulder rolling down on Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark will be left cold.

"[30] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal gave the film a negative review, saying that it "has all of the clank but none of the swank of the previous version.

Brendan Fraser and John Hannah both reprised their roles, while Rachel Weisz was replaced by Maria Bello as Evelyn, and Luke Ford played the now-adult Alex O'Connell.