Trivia / The Scorpion King

• Adaptation Sequence: The Scorpion King 2 might just take the cake. It's a direct to DVD prequel of a spin-off of a sequel of a remake.
• California Doubling: More like Arizona Doubling. This is the one of the series entirely filmed in the US (the sequels went for South Africa, Thailand, and Romania).
• The Character Died with Him: Balthazar is revealed to have died in the fifth movie The Book of Souls, just like his actor Michael Clarke Duncan did in 2012.
• Direct to Video: Though the first film was released theatrically, the rest of the series was released direct to DVD.
• DVD Commentary: By Dwayne Johnson.
• Fake Nationality: Samoan American Dwayne Johnson as Akkadian Mathayus in the first film. Filipino American Michael Copon in the second film, Canadian Victor Webster in the third and fourth films and American Zach McGowan for the fifth movie.
• The Other Darrin: Dwayne Johnson originally reprised his role as Mathayus from The Mummy Returns for the first film. He was replaced by Michael Copon for Rise of a Warrior, by Victor Webster for The Battle for Redemption and Quest for Power, and by Zach McGowan for The Book of Souls.
• Referenced by...: Nope, in which the characters worked as horse trainers on the film, and one of the protagonists dons a crew sweater emblazoned with the film's logo in the climax.
• Sequel Gap: Rise of a Warrior was released six years after the first film.
• Star-Making Role: The first film is Dwayne Johnson's breakthrough outside his cameo in The Mummy Returns.
• Throw It In!: During the sword fight between Balthazar and Mathayas, the swords break and Michael Clarke Duncan and Dwayne Johnson turn their heads away from the shards. In the special features, Johnson confesses that the swords actually broke, and the very sharp shards could have hurt them. They chose to keep it in, and improvised.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The first movie's DVD includes alternate versions of several scenes showcasing an entire prophesy subplot that was cut. Said subplot explained the villain's whole motivation and the otherwise confusing ending.
  • Early in the production, the role of Memnon was written for Chow Yun-fat. His manager Terence Chang vetoed it, saying Chow never plays villains and that doing so would betray his fans.

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