Where to watch The Mummy (1999)

Trivia & production notes

• George A. Romero wrote a treatment for The Mummy in 1987 and was attached to direct, but the project was abandoned when Universal rejected his vision of an unstoppable creature with minimal dialogue, similar to the dinosaur in Jurassic Park.
• Clive Barker developed a 1990 treatment set in a Beverly Hills art museum that rebuilds an entire Egyptian tomb, but the studio considered his dark, sexual vision too weird for the project.
• Joe Dante was briefly attached to direct with Daniel Day-Lewis as the Mummy, a version that would have included flesh-eating scarabs, but Universal rejected the higher budget required.
• Stephen Sommers pitched his vision of The Mummy as an adventure film inspired by Indiana Jones and Jason and the Argonauts rather than a horror remake, using an 18-page treatment that convinced Universal to approve the project and increase the budget.
• Sommers consulted with a UCLA archaeology professor to ensure the ancient Egyptian language used in the film was accurate.
• Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck were all offered the role of Rick O'Connell before Brendan Fraser was cast, partly because the strong box office performance of George of the Jungle convinced producers that Fraser had star power.
• Rachel Weisz auditioned multiple times for the role of Evelyn Carnahan before being cast, even though the studio initially focused on American actresses.
• John Hannah was cast as Jonathan Carnahan despite his own uncertainty about being a comedic actor, with director Sommers saying Hannah had no idea why he was chosen for the role.
• Arnold Vosloo lost 10 to 15 pounds for the role of Imhotep by avoiding alcohol and sugar because he was conscious of wearing the character's minimal costume.
• The production shot in Marrakesh, Morocco rather than Egypt due to unstable political conditions, and had to spend two weeks removing telephone wires and cables and shipping in period cars and camels to create a 1920s aesthetic.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article The Mummy (1999 film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.