The Correct Order To Watch The Mummy Movies
If there's one thing I've learned from watching countless horror movies and episodes of "Scooby-Doo," it's that you don't mess with mummies. It's a superstition that's held so strong over the years that even when visiting museums, I tend to respectfully steer clear of the ancient Egypt exhibits. Myths about the latent powers of mummified royals have been around for ages, and many of them have been unfortunately influenced by stereotype-heavy depictions of Egypt and surrounding African and Middle Eastern cultures. Regardless of how much the world now knows about ancient Egyptian burial rituals, when most American moviegoers picture a mummy in their mind's eye these days, they're as likely to think about a Universal Pictures movie monster as they are the real thing.
The first movie in "The Mummy" franchise was released in 1932, with classic monster actor Boris Karloff playing the former high priest Imhotep, now reduced to bandaged, shuffling bad guy status. The original Universal "Mummy" films are great, but most discussions of "The Mummy" movies focus on the goofy but wildly entertaining trilogy of films starring Brendan Fraser that began in 1999. For clarity's sake, we'll focus on those here too, but will also explore additional films from the vast "Mummy" canon that are worth checking out once you run out of installments of Stephen Sommers' swashbuckling series.
Option one: the popular modern trilogy
If you're looking for a rollicking good time and a slightly scary, slightly silly "family" movie experience the likes of which doesn't really happen these days, look no further than Stephen Sommers' three-film series that begins with 1999's "The Mummy." The first film in the modern trilogy stars Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as a pair of explorers — he a renowned adventurer, she other a buttoned-up librarian — on a journey to Hamunaptra, an Egyptian "City of the Dead." They're joined by John Hannah as Weisz's character's brother and are soon hunted by the resurrected mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo).
"The Mummy" is followed up by two sequels, 2001's "The Mummy Returns" and 2008's "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," which Sommers produced but did not direct. While the latter was widely panned upon its release, fans of Sommers' action-adventure sensibilities, the franchise's wry humor, and Weisz and Fraser's chemistry should make sure to watch all three films in chronological order, as they tell a complete story about the core characters. As of publication time, all three movies in the '90s and aughts "Mummy" trilogy are available on The Roku Channel.
Option two: the Universal classics
If you'd prefer to study the film classics that inspired Sommers' films rather than revisit the Fraser-led trilogy, it's worth noting that there are actually six Universal horror films that came before the 1999 flick, which is technically a reboot of a 1932 film of the same name. Though the Boris Karloff-led original, "The Mummy," is considered the most essential work of this early franchise, there were also five follow-ups made, including 1940's "The Mummy's Hand," 1942's "The Mummy's Tomb," 1944's "The Mummy's Ghost" and "The Mummy's Curse," and 1955's gimmicky horror comedy "Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy."
To be clear, you don't need to watch any of these movies to understand the 1999-2008 trilogy, but they're great watches for anyone who's a fan of old Hollywood movie magic, special effects monster makeup, and clever (and, at times, not so clever) horror storytelling. You can watch these movies before or after watching the more modern "Mummy" films, but it's important to note that only some of these classic movies are related to one another. 1932's "The Mummy" and 1955's "Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy" are unrelated to one another or any other classic Universal "Mummy" films, but the four films made from 1940 to 1944 are all related and should be watched in chronological release date order.
Option three: à la carte add-ons
As if all of this isn't complicated enough, there are also several movies tangentially related to the "Mummy" franchise. Perhaps most notably, the 2002 film "The Scorpion King" serves as a prequel to 2002's "The Mummy Returns," telling the story of the rise of Mathayus of Akkad, played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Mathayus, who became the magical warrior known as The Scorpion King, factors into "The Mummy Returns" in a major way, so it makes sense for fans of Sommers' trilogy to check out that film either before or after watching "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns."
This franchise also has some "you're not missing anything if you forgot these movies existed" installments, including, somehow, four direct-to-video "Scorpion King" sequels. There's also a poorly received 2017 reboot of "The Mummy," which was meant to kick off Universal's new Dark Universe, which never materialized. Though this movie received bad reviews, it does have some novel appeal in that it stars Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, and "Rebel Moon" actress Sofia Boutella, and is directed by "Star Trek" writer Alex Kurtzman. The film also has Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, and Russell Crowe, so really, there's something for everyone.
Bad DTV sequels and failed reboots aside, "Mummy" purists and horror aficionados will also point to one last bunch of relevant films worth watching: a quartet of vivid but uneven re-imaginings from British genre producer Hammer Films. This side quest of a saga began in 1959 with "The Mummy," which actually pulled elements from Universal's sequels to the film of the same name, and continued through the early '70s with "The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb," "The Mummy's Shroud," and "Blood From the Mummy's Tomb." These films are largely unrelated and do not need to be watched in any particular order.
Here's the ideal streamlined Mummy watchlist
If one were to watch every "Mummy" movie made since Imhotep first made his silver screen debut, they'd be sitting through 14 largely unrelated movies of varying quality. Add in the "Scorpion King" spinoffs, and the tally goes up to 19 movies. Unless you've got lots of time on your hands or a special interest in classic cinema or mummy lore, not every "Mummy" film is essential. Your best bet for a streamlined, mostly-satisfying experience is to watch the main films in Sommers' story arc chronologically, then check out the 1932 original for comparison, before adding in any additional "Mummy" films you may be interested in as extra credit.
For a fun but manageable movie marathon, first watch 1999's "The Mummy" and 2001's "The Mummy Returns," then deepen the sequel's lore with "The Scorpion King." While "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" isn't exactly the perfect series end-note fans wished for, it does continue Rick's storyline, so if you're invested in these characters, it's worth watching to wrap the whole adventure up. From there, go wherever the cinematic winds take you, keeping in mind that the Universal classics (like 1932's "The Mummy" and 1940's "The Mummy's Hand") are considered classics for a reason, Hammer horror (like 1959's "The Mummy" and its increasingly schlocky sequels) can be a lot of fun, and 2017's "The Mummy" may not be great, but it does feature Tom Cruise doing his best "Mission: Impossible" sprint away from monsters, if you're into that.