In 1992, James Jacks, the founder and producer of Alphaville Film Company, had the idea to remake the classic horror film "The Mummy" of the 1930s. Universal Pictures agreed to invest in the filming, but the premise is that the production cost must be controlled at 10 million US dollars. , Because Universal only wants to shoot a small-cost horror film. So Jacks hired Cliff Barker as the director. The latter conceived a rather violent version. The story revolved around a museum curator who tried to bring the mummy back to life. Jacks thinks that Buck's lens is dark, sexy and mysterious, and he will definitely make a very good low-cost horror film. Unexpectedly, after several meetings, Buck and Universal gradually lost interest in cooperation, and the two eventually parted ways.
Then was introduced to George A. Romero, who hoped to make the film into a "Night of the Living Dead"-style zombie film, but both Jacks and the producer believed that the high level of shock was not in line with the original intention of the filming. Will widen the distance from the audience. Joe Dante is the next candidate. He hopes that Daniel Day-Lewis will play the lingering mummy, which will increase the shooting budget. The Dante version of the story takes place in modern times, focusing on reincarnation and love stories, and even carnivorous scarabs appear, which can be described as very close to the final film. However, the producer was only willing to invest 15 million US dollars, so Dante was shut out. Later, Mick Garris contacted the producer, and Wes Craven refused to direct the film. In 1997, Stephen Sommers called Jacks, hoping to adopt the style of "Prince Jason vs. Raiders" or "Indiana Jones" and make the mummy an opponent of the protagonist.
