While Dwayne Johnson's movie The Scorpion King is fiction, a figure in Egyptian history known as King Scorpion did exist. The Scorpion King was released in 2002, one year after Johnson made his debut in The Mummy Returns, the second movie in The Mummy franchise. While Johnson played a villain in The Mummy Returns, the character of Mathayus was a hero in The Scorpion King. The timeline can be confusing, but the version of Mathayas that Johnson plays in The Scorpion King is actually the grandfather of his character in The Mummy Returns, and is set thousands of years before.
Even though The Scorpion King only holds a 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film made $180 million at the box office on a $60 million budget and cemented Johnson as a leading man in Hollywood. Therefore, audiences were clearly intrigued by Johnson's character in The Scorpion King. While Johnson did not return for any future movies, a total of five Scorpion King movies have been made. Focusing on the first film in the series, it has long been wondered if The Scorpion King is based on a true story, and if Johnson's character really did exist.
The Scorpion King Was Inspired By Ancient Egypt's King Scorpion
The Real King Scorpion Ruled Before The Pharoahs
Johnson's character in The Scorpion King is inspired by Ancient Egypt's King Scorpion, also known as King Narmer, a figure who ruled over Egypt before the time of the pharaohs. However, many of the attributes of Johnson's character in The Scorpion King are not the same as the real-life figure. For example, Methayus is an Akkadian assassin in The Scorpion King, hired to murder the sorceress of Memnon, who conquered most of the local tribes in Egypt. While not much is known about the real-life King Scorpion, it is highly unlikely that he was born outside of Egypt.
Furthermore, the only reason Methayus has any ties to scorpions in the 2002 movie is because he was stabbed by an arrow which was doused in scorpion venom. In The Scorpion King, Cassandra, the aforementioned sorceress, claimed that the blood of the scorpion would always run through him if he survived. While it is unknown if the real King Scorpion was ever poisoned by scorpion venom, this was likely a plot point the writers of the movie made up. In reality, King Narmer was known as King Scorpion because he always had scorpions drawn on his shields and chariots.
When King Scorpion Ruled Over Egypt
Egypt Used To Be A Much Different Place
As mentioned, The Scorpion King is set thousands of years before The Mummy Returns, which pitted Dwayne Johnson against Brennan Fraser. Similarly, King Scorpion ruled over Egypt thousands of years ago, so it is difficult to discover exactly what his reign was like. Narmer became the king of Egypt during the Predynastic Period (6000–3150 BCE) - he has been cited as the last king of this period - and continued to rule during the First Dynastic Period (3150–2613 BCE).
King Scorpion was instrumental in bringing Upper and Lower Egypt together.
During the Predynastic Period, long before the pharaohs, Egypt was actually divided into two parts, Upper and Lower Egypt. However, since the First Dynastic Period of Egypt began when the country was finally united, it is clear that King Scorpion was instrumental in bringing Upper and Lower Egypt together. Therefore, when King Scorpion first began his reign, Egypt was a drastically different place, and this is reflected in The Scorpion King. In the film, Memnon is able to gain so much power because the tribes of Egypt are separated. However, it is Methayus who brings the tribes together.
How King Scorpion Impacted Egyptian Civilization
Experts Are Still Learning New Things About King Scorpion
The end of The Scorpion King suggests that Methayas has ushered in a new era for Egypt, and the country will become stronger than ever. This was true during the real King Scorpion's reign. Throughout history, it was believed that King Menes was the one who unified Upper and Lower Egypt. However, archaeological findings in 1898 revealed the Narmer Palette, which changed historians' understanding of Ancient Egypt forever.
Since King Scorpion ruled over Egypt so long ago, before writing was a common practice, most details about his reign are not documented. However, the Narmer Palette depicts King Narmer wearing both the white crown of Upper Egypt and the red crown of Lower Egypt, seemingly confirming that he was the one who actually unified Egypt. Some historians actually believe that Narmer and Menes were the same person, but this has not been confirmed. Regardless, it is clear that King Narmer was one of the most important figures in Egyptian history, and turned the country into the world's first empire.
How Much Of The Scorpion King Movie Is Fictionalized
The Scorpion King Writers Did Not Look To History That Much
Most of The Scorpion King was fictionalized, with the movie only very loosely being based on the real King Scorpion. However, based on what is known about the real King Scorpion, it is clear the writers of the film gave Johnson's Methayus many of the same qualities. While King Narmer was likely not Akkadian, he probably was a brave warrior and a wise leader, especially if he was the one to unite Egypt. Therefore, the idea of Methayus healing a broken Egypt by the end of the movie is likely inspired by the story of the real King Scorpion.
Every Scorpion King Movie
Release Year
The Scorpion King
2002
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior
2008
The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption
2012
The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power
2015
The Scorpion King: Book of Souls
2018
Other than Johnson's Methayus, however, none of the other characters featured in The Scorpion King ever existed in real life. Besides Methayus, the most significant characters in the movie are Cassandra, the sorceress, and Emperor Memnon, the antagonist of the film. The Scorpion Kingexaggerates Cassandra's powers to add a fantastical element to the story. While rulers in Ancient Egypt did seek the council of those who claimed to see visions of the future, Cassandra is a fictional character specifically designed for The Scorpion King movie.
Similarly, Memnon was never a real ruler in Egypt. While the real King Scorpion did have to fight enemies in battles to take control of Egypt, no one named Memnon has ever been documented as one of Narmer's opponents. Therefore, most of The Scorpion King's plot points and characters were completely made up for the story of the movie.
2002's The Scorpion King stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the titular role. Directed by Chuck Russell, the film follows the rise of the Scorpion King and is a direct prequel and spin-off to the cult-classic film, The Mummy.
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