The late 90’s Mummy franchise was quite the delight as Universal rebooted the franchise and spawned 2 sequels and a spin-off film, The Scorpion King. At the time, newcomers to Hollywood Dwayne Johnson took the mantle of the titular king. Almost two decades later, Deadline is reporting that Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions will be working with Universal Pictures to relaunch the franchise with a brand-new movie.
Universal and Seven Bucks Productions have already tapped Jonathan Herman to write the script, however, Johnson will not reprise the role as the studio is apparently searching for a new actor to play Mathayus. Despite Johnson not reprising his role, Deadline added that “the chance of him appearing in the movie also seems like a good possibility.” Johnson stated,
The Scorpion King was my very first role ever on the silver screen and I’m honored and excited to reimagine and deliver this cool mythology to a whole new generation. I wouldn’t have had the career I’m lucky enough to have had it not been for The Scorpion King and I’m thrilled that we at Seven Bucks Productions can help create those same opportunities for other hard working actors today. I believe Jonathan Herman will put in the hard work to deliver a fantastic script for our global audience.
Dany Garcia added,
“The original Scorpion King was a crucial catalyst helping to catapult us into the world of film,”
“To be able to now produce the next iteration as part of our Seven Bucks Productions slate is a special, full circle moment, a testament to what we have been fortunate enough to build for our audience and ultimately a humble reminder of the timeless value of authentic storytelling.”
