Universal Pictures and Dwayne Johnson are seeking to reboot The Scorpion King, with Johnson producing, The Scorpion King is a 2002 action-adventure fantasy film starring Dwayne Johnson, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov, and Michael Clarke Duncan. The film - set 5000 years before the first The Mummy film - serves as a prequel spinoff to Universal's prestigious horror-adventure The Mummy franchise. In the Mummy movies, The Scorpion King was essentially a secondary villain - a centaurid scorpion-monster - that Rick kills using the Spear of Osiris. But The Scorpion King delved deeper into the origins of the eponymous character, focusing on the time of his life when he was the legendary hero Mathayus.
Johnson holds The Scorpion King in high regard as the movie helped launched his illustrious career as a lead actor. Following the film's success, there were plans for a sequel with Johnson to return in the titular role. But the sequel was ultimately shelved as Johnson remained preoccupied with other big-ticket projects. Johnson's absence, however, did not discourage executive Sommers from developing a Scorpion King movie franchise spanning five films and two video games. The fifth Scorpion King movie The Scorpion King: Book of Souls starring Zach McGowan was released straight to video in October 2018. The movie was believed to be the final installment in Sommer's media-verse. But as it now appears, there is a lot more Scorpion King action yet to arrive.
Deadline reported Universal Pictures and Dwayne Johnson are rebooting The Scorpion King movie alongside Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions. Johnson and Dany Garica have been signed to executive produce the new movie, whereas Straight Outta Compton writer Jonathan Herman has been locked to pen the script. As per Deadline, the Scorpion King reboot will not be led by Johnson, rather a new actor will topline the film. Johnson said:
“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’m thrilled that we at Seven Bucks Productions can help create those same opportunities for other hard working actors today.”
Deadline also reports that since The Scorpion King franchise is very dear to Johnson, it's quite likely that the highly-paid Hollywood star will appear in the new movie in a cameo role. That is, however, the case if he is able to take some time off his busy schedule. While the original Scorpion King was set in the prehistoric era, the new movie will reportedly have a contemporary backdrop. At this point, the plot details are largely under wraps, although it has been confirmed that the new movie will be unlike all previous ones. Currently, Universal hasn't set a director to steer the ship, but the search is on.
Arguably, The Scorpion King wasn't Johnson's best work, nor was it an astounding box-office blockbuster. In fact, the sequels it spawned were even more mediocre than the original film. But what makes The Scorpion King so important is that it gave Johnson an opportunity to prove that he had the authority and fortitude to become a durable action star and that it connected with audiences in a way that was rare and cherishable. The Scorpion King is a humble reminder of how storytelling in the action-adventure genre has progressed over the years. So hopefully, now, when Universal Pictures relaunches the movie, it will fix its narratives mistakes from the past and give an opportunity to more aspiring actors - regardless of their ethnic and racial backgrounds - to shine on the big screen.
Source: Deadline