In 1999's The Mummy, Egyptian concubine Anck-su-namun (Patricia Velasquez) plays a key role as a character motivation for the villain, Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo), but it is unclear whether she was a real person in Ancient Egypt. Imhotep's curse wreaks havoc in The Mummy as he sets out to resurrect Anck-su-namun, as they were lovers during their lifetimes. Just like Imhotep, her character is based on real Egyptian history, but not in the way the movie makes it out to be.
In reality, Anck-su-namun was an Egyptian princess, not a concubine. Named Ankhesenamun, she was the daughter of Pharaoh Ankhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, and later married Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Unlike Anck-su-namun in The Mummy, she lived in the mid-1300s BCE, while Imhotep lived in the 27th century BCE. So even though she was real, she never would have been able to meet Imhotep, let alone fall in love with him.
How The Mummy Blended History And Hollywood
When Universal Studios decided to remake the 1932 film The Mummy in the late 1980s, it took several treatments and screenplays and about a decade until they found the right writer and director in Stephen Sommers. Sommers put in the effort to make sure the ancient Egyptian culture was accurate, but as the film was a blockbuster adaptation of a 1930s film, it didn’t seek to be historically accurate in terms of the Egyptian historical figures used. Characters like Brendan Fraser's Mummy protagonist Rick O'Connell were placed alongside historical figures like Imhotep, who was real but adapted to fit the function of the script. As with many Hollywood movies based on history, there's a blend of truth and make-believe in The Mummy.
Why Was Anck-su-namun's Story Changed?
When Universal was looking for the right writer to pen the script of 1999's The Mummy, they went through many treatments and screenplays until they found the correct fit. Some iterations were too dark and dramatic, or they just weren't right for a blockbuster. Sommers was able to infuse the character of Imhotep's mummy with enough historical background - even if it wasn't accurate - to create a compelling motivation and story for the mummy to justify his unleashing of the curse. Sommers turned Ankhesenamun into a devious and ruthless character in her own right and provides plausible motivation for Imhotep.
Even though there isn't much truth to how Anck-su-namun was portrayed in The Mummy, she was still a real historical figure, if more by name than by what audiences learn about her in the film. Both in the movie and in real life, Ankhesenamun was a powerful, influential woman during her time. Sommers utilized the strength of her character effectively to make her a key part of The Mummy. While there was little historically accurate information about her in The Mummy, Ankhesenamun really did exist in ancient Egypt.