Revenge of the Mummy: Unearthing the Story Behind Universal’s Mummified Marvel

New lives

Good ideas never die, and that’s why Revenge of the Mummy can be found at two other Universal Parks destinations… But interestingly, it looks quite a bit different in each…

1. Universal Studios Hollywood

While construction pressed ahead on Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Florida, the original park in Hollywood was getting its own mummified makeover, too. However, the California park’s Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride would take on a different form.

After all, we know that Universal Studios Hollywood has always been a working movie studio first and foremost, with its transition to a “theme park” being much more gradual and much less elaborate. Instead of a purpose-built park, showbuildings had been more or less scattered around the miniscule property set aside for guests in Hollywood with the Studio Tour acting as the main draw. (And in fact, it wasn’t until Universal Studios Hollywood kicked off another intentional reboot and multi-year construction project ahead of the Wizarding World’s 2016 West Coast debut that the park began to thoughtfully reorganize itself as a theme park proper, including themed lands, a park icon at the end of a “Main Street,” etc.)

So surveying the real estate options in Hollywood, designers opted to use the largest pre-existing ride showbuilding accessible to them: E.T. Adventure.

The last flights to E.T.’s home planet took off on March 14, 2003 and sixteen months later, Hollywood’s own Revenge of the Mummy opened for business. Redesigned for the much, much smaller showbuilding in Hollywood, the Californian version of Revenge of the Mummy is by most all accounts less elaborate, with a more brief dark ride section, less impressive animatronics, and a very odd anticlimax.

That being said, Hollywood’s ride is fun in its own right, with a more significant backwards coaster section and a few tricks up its sleeves.

You can compare the Florida and Hollywood version by taking a look at the on-ride video filmed at Universal Studios Hollywood here:

2. Universal Studios Singapore

Enthusiasts tend to forget about Universal Studios Singapore, the unusual park in Southeast Asia. The park (which is owned by the Malaysian Genting Group who licenses the brand from Universal – like the Oriental Land Company’s Tokyo Disney Resort) is an extraordinary one: in it, designers essentially borrowed the Islands of Adventure model (themed “islands” situated around a lagoon) and merged with the more grounded and movie-based Universal Studios set-up.

So the park opened with movie-set style lands of New York and Hollywood interspersed among imaginative fantasy realms themed to Madagascar, Shrek, Jurassic Park, and a futuristic Sci-Fi City. (In other words, while the Singapore park borrowed Islands of Adventure’s style, it skipped its timeless intellectual properties in favor of movies; and like clockwork, two of its lands are on the way out for hotter brands.)

The park’s seventh land is Ancient Egypt, an entire section ostensibly themed to The Mummy. Truly larger than life, the incredible, built-out land actually earned a spot on our list of The Seven “Ancient” Wonders of the Theme Park World, primarily thanks to the land’s centerpiece: Imhotep’s Tomb.

In Singapore’s immersive and thoughtfully detailed land, Universal Creative was finally able to do away with soundstages, filmmaking, and seeing “behind the scenes.” There’s no awkward transition from New York to tomb here… Rather, it looks (and feels) as if you’re truly entering an ancient, towering tomb.

Of course, given a blank slate, designers opted to clone Florida’s version of the ride, though Singapore’s necessarily improves upon the original with new scenes (including a replacement for the leaping Imhotep animatronic), new effects, and a tweaked story to account for the change of setting.

You’ve got to see the incredible Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Singapore, which may be the best version of the ride yet:

What’s Next?

Since 2004, Revenge of the Mummy has been thrilling guests at Universal Studios Florida. And though it may be hard to believe, that means that it’s been around longer than its predecessor, Kongfrontation!

But as we’ve seen, appeal to an older generation (in this case, children of the ‘80s and ‘90s who grew up with Stephen Sommers’ Mummy series) is hardly enough to justify a ride’s continued existence at Universal. Sure, we don’t expect that Revenge of the Mummy is going anywhere any time soon…

But by the same count, yet another reboot of the series kicked off in Summer 2017 with Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, and Tom Cruise starring in The Mummy. It’s worth noting that the 2017 reboot is a world away from the romantic adventure film from 1999… The new Mummy is set in modern day, tells the story of Princess Ahmanet (the first female mummy in the series’ 85-year life), and more or less avoids the bright, fun, globetrotting, Indy-esque adventure of the Stephen Sommers movie in favor of a dark, gritty, action thriller with horror elements.

“Luckily” (for fans of Universal’s ride, at least) 2017’s The Mummy was a critical disaster and a financial disappointment (earning far less than half of the 1999 film’s box office).

That also seemed to put an early end to Universal’s ill-fated “Dark Universe” – a short-lived attempt at a Marvel Cinematic Universe-style shared continuity that would’ve connected a dozen or more reboots of Universal’s Classic Monsters. In fact, the film’s larger ambitions seemed to be theproblem, with critics and fans languishing over the film’s agonizing exposition and its obvious attempts to launch a franchise no one asked for.

Mummy Producer Chris Morgan commented, “I don’t [have] regrets or anything like that. I think it’s just, you know, I think it probably was trying to come together too quickly, I would say. And I think everyone got to take a breath and take a step back and take a look at it, and now just focus on maybe doing it a little bit slower.”

Ultimately, the “Dark Universe” was scrapped and further film entries in pre-production were either cancelled or returned to concept. The results so far come in the form of more old-school, indie-spirited, standalone reboots like 2020’s The Invisible Man (which cost just $7 million versus The Mummy’s $195 million, and earned positive reviews and substantial revenue). In other words, Revenge of the Mummy seems to have escaped an otherwise-inevitable retheme… for now… But is it untouchable? At Universal, nothing is.

Sweet Revenge

Revenge of the Mummy opened at a near perfect time in Universal’s development. Pre-Potter, the ride acts as a perfect blending of cinematic skills, animatronics, projection, and thrills all interconnected to create a breathtaking (and most importantly, downright fun) ride experience, without screens, 3D, or a simulator.

Given that 1999’s The Mummy was envisioned as Universal’s version of Indiana Jones, perhaps it’s appropriate to think of Revenge of the Mummy as Universal’s equivalent to Disneyland’s impeccable Indiana Jones Adventure: a true multi-sensory thrill ride with twists, turns, outstanding set design, wild special effects, and a spirit of triumph and adventure.

That’s why we happily induct Revenge of the Mummy into our growing library of Modern Marvels – from queue to dark ride to coaster, it feels like a complete experience more than a ride; a true masterpiece for fans of adventure.

We want to hear from you. In the comments below, share your experiences on Revenge of the Mummy… Do you agree that this 21st century ride deserves Modern Marvel status alongside Spider-Man, Mystic Manor, and more? Were you surprised by the Mummy’s revenge on your first ride? What other Modern Marvels would you like to learn more about in our in-depth series?