Why The Scorpion King’s CGI was so bad in The Mummy Returns

As the movie’s VFX supervisor explains, the Scorpion King’s appearance in The Mummy Returns was notoriously bad.

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For its hideous recreation of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the Scorpion King, The Mummy Returns frequently tops lists of the worst CGI ever. It is important to remember that the most ridiculous digital creation to have been put on the screen appeared in the same year Peter Jackson unleashed Lord of the Rings, so there have been plenty of movies to match it. However, even the movie’s VFX supervisor has acknowledged that The Mummy Returns is a tough act to beat.

The Scorpion King

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When I went on the internet, Google said ‘Hey check this out, here’s an interesting thing you might be interested in: the worst visual effects were ever done.’ But I’m like ‘But wait, that’s the Scorpion King, should I watch that video?’ But I watched it and it made me feel bad…

We didn’t have the reference we needed for the Scorpion King in this movie. It’s not really an excuse, but an explanation of how things work in movies sometimes.We asked for that, we needed a day with Dwayne Johnson to photograph his face and eye details. Due to his incredible WWE career, that was not possible. He was with us for maybe three days in Morocco to shoot his scenes…

I think if you had all that stuff, the animation would work better because it’s supposed to be a little cartoony here, and I think that informed our decisions about whether or not the shots were ready for the movie because there was an expectation at the time of this needing to reach a certain level. In this sequence, there are a lot of shots that don’t look great, but there are a bunch that do…

It’s always hard to get past the butthurtedness of something like this, and I knew we needed a reference but couldn’t find it.”

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Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy Returns received generally positive reviews and grossed over $435 worldwide, but its finale became the stuff of legend for all the wrong reasons. It may have been Dwayne Johnson’s first big step toward becoming the money machine he is today, but it probably wouldn’t grace his sizzle reel.

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Nonetheless, Johnson’s character spawned a sequel and a spin-off, and the franchise is still fondly remembered. Although the Scorpion King’s appearance in the film is never going to be a pleasant one, at least the new comments explain why it was so bad.

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Brendan Fraser Says He’d Like To Do A Fourth “The Mummy” Film