20 Things You Somehow Missed In The Mummy Returns

Considering The Mummy has been a horror icon for decades, it was ballsy for Stephen Sommers to turn the recognised property into a comedic blockbuster.

Despite being sandwiched between the release of The Matrix and The Phantom Menace, 1999's The Mummy was a smash hit, recouping over five times its budget. It was so successful, in fact, that Universal informed Sommers that it needed another one a day after its release.

Two years later, Brendan Fraser's Rick O'Connell and Rachel Weisz's Evelyn Carnahan set out on another adventure in the suitably named The Mummy Returns.

Although it had big shoes to fill, the sequel was another box-office smash, even outperforming its predecessor. Although it faced some criticism (mostly directed towards a certain special effect), the follow-up is remembered fondly to this day, albeit not quite on the same level of the preceding film.

Like the subject matter itself, The Mummy Returns is filled with buried secrets just waiting to be dug up, including Easter eggs, nods to other properties, and cameos aplenty.

The Mummy Returns might not be your favourite in the series, but after discovering these little details, you might find yourself appreciating it even more.

Midway through the movie, Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) unlocks memories of her previous life as Princess Nefertiri, the daughter of Pharaoh Seti I, and specifically a fight Nefertiri had with Anck-su-namun (Patricia Velásquez), the Pharaoh's mistress.

Despite the elaborate nature of the battle, involving weapons and balletic flips, Rachel Weisz and Patricia Velásquez reportedly shot the scene without the help of any stunt professionals whatsoever.

More to the point, they spent an entire five months training to shoot the sequence. 

That's... a lot of work for a mere two-minute scene, but considering how great the end result looks, it's fair to say that the time investment was most certainly worth it.