For the first time, the audience met the Scorpion King performed by Dwayne Johnson in the second part of the adventure film "The Mummy Returns." The story of the character was so interesting that Universal decided to make a whole spin-off dedicated to this hero and tell the story of Akkad Metaes. The success of the tape was deafening, which served as the creation of several more films, a prequel and a sequel, though here, the actors of “The Scorpion King” in each new part were constantly changing. To date, there are four films of this franchise. The first of them was released in 2002, and the last in 2015.
"Scorpion King": actors and roles
The well-known wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson again played the role of an Akkadian mercenary Metaes, who overthrew the king of Memnon performed by Stephen Brand. The role of the Scorpion King brought him worldwide popularity and an excellent start in cinema. It is from this picture that one can safely begin the countdown of Johnson's rather extensive filmography. The role of the captive and subsequently beloved Metaes, the sorceress of Cassandra, was performed by film and television actress Kelly Hu. The leader of the Nubians Balthazar, an ally of Akkad, was played by Michael Clark Duncan, who became famous for the role of John Coffey in The Green Mile, as well as in a number of other equally popular films. Roger Rhys (King Feron), Bernard Hill (Philos), the future star of the Twilight saga Peter Facinelli (Takmet), Grant Heslov (Metaes savior - Arpid Konokrad) and many others also starred in the film. In the director's chair of the project was Chuck Russell, known for his work on films such as The Mask and Nightmares on Elm Street 3. And the creator of "Mummy" Stephen Sommers acted as a producer, and participated in writing the script for the first film.
The prequel or the second part of the “Scorpion King”
After six whole years after the release of the first film, Universal decided to revive the story of Metaes and tell what happened before the events described in the first part. In 2008, “Scorpion King 2: Warrior Rises” was released immediately to DVD, bypassing theaters. It was an unexpected and not the most successful move of the creators of the project. The film was directed by Russell Mulkahi. Despite the fact that the same Stephen Sommers worked on the film, the actors of “Scorpion King 2” were completely different. Dwayne Johnson's career soared after the first film, and he did not want to return to this project, so the role of Metaes went to the younger serial Michael Kopon, especially since the film tells the story of the young years of the future Scorpion King. In the role of his beloved, warlike Leila, Karen David acted . The main enemy, the black magician Sargon, who killed Metaes’s father, is American sportsman-actor Randy Couture, and his dark goddess of death, Astarte, is Natalie Becker. Also in the film were Simon Quatterman, Tom Wu, Peter Butler, Andreas Wisnivsky and others. Reviews about the film were very different, but he was definitely far from the first part.
A completely different story
In 2012, the movie “Scorpion King 3: The Book of the Dead” was released on DVD, as well as the second part, without showing in cinemas. In this tape, the story line goes from the end of the first part, so it can be called a sequel. But a completely different team of producers, screenwriters and director worked on the tape. The actors of “Scorpion King 3” are also completely different than in the first film. Quite well-known on television, but almost unrecognizable in the movie, Victor Webster became the new Metaes. His partner named Tsukai was played by Selina Law. The famous wrestler Batista appeared on the screen in the image of Agromail. Despite the fact that such actors of the movie “Scorpion King 3”, such as the Titanic star Billy Zane (King Taus) and Hellboy Ron Perlman (Horus), were also on the set, this did not save the tape from complete failure.
One more attempt
In early 2015, the long-suffering franchise received another film, and again unsuccessful. Like the two previous ones, “Scorpion King 4: The Lost Throne” was released only on video. In the continuation of the story, the production and cast changed again. The role of Metaes was tried on by the next series actor Victor Webster. King Zakkur was played by the unforgettable Rutger Hauer. Other actors in Scorpion King 4 are Ellen Hallman, Barry Bostwick, Michael Bean, Will Kemp, Royce Gracie. An attempt to continue the story of Metaes was again unsuccessful.