There is no single Mummy movie timeline. The 1932 Universal horror film, the 1940s Kharis cycle, Hammer’s 1959 interpretation, the 1999–2008 Brendan Fraser trilogy and the 2017 reboot are separate branches. Watch each branch in its own release order rather than trying to merge them.
The Mummy movies are separate continuities, not one long story
The title The Mummy has been used for several unrelated film cycles. They share broad ingredients—ancient burial, supernatural resurrection and a threat from the past—but they do not share one canon. A character, event or version of the mummy in one branch does not automatically carry into another.
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| Branch | Central mummy | Style | How it connects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universal, 1932 | Imhotep, an Egyptian priest | Gothic supernatural horror | Starting point for the original concept; later Universal films shift to Kharis |
| Universal Kharis cycle, 1940s | Kharis, a mummified high priest | Classic monster horror | Uses the Universal mummy tradition rather than continuing the 1932 Imhotep plot as one uninterrupted story |
| Hammer, 1959 and sequels | Kharis in Hammer’s interpretation | British gothic horror | Draws on earlier Universal mummy films, with its own follow-ups |
| Fraser trilogy, 1999–2008 | Imhotep in an action-adventure setting | Large-scale archaeological adventure | Three-film story: 1999, 2001 and 2008 |
| Universal reboot, 2017 | Princess Ahmanet | Contemporary supernatural action | Standalone reboot with Nick Morton; it does not continue Rick O’Connell’s story |
The most useful way to think about the series is as a set of branches. Choose the tone and characters you want, then follow that branch in release order.
What happens in each major branch?
The Mummy (1932): Imhotep and the Scroll of Thoth
The 1932 film stars Boris Karloff as Imhotep, an Egyptian priest whose mummy is about 3,700 years old. British archaeologists uncover him and revive him after the Scroll of Thoth is read. That awakening supplies the film’s central supernatural premise: an ancient figure returns to the modern world and pursues a connection with the past.
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This is a compact, atmospheric horror story rather than an action franchise. It establishes Imhotep as the best-known mummy identity in the series and is the conceptual ancestor of later remakes, even though those later films change the plot, characters and genre emphasis.
The Universal Kharis films of the 1940s
Universal’s later cycle centers on Kharis, a mummified high priest, rather than simply continuing Imhotep’s narrative. The six-film Universal Complete Legacy Collection is a convenient way to explore this era and contains The Mummy (1932), The Mummy’s Hand, The Mummy’s Tomb, The Mummy’s Ghost, The Mummy’s Curse and Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. Universal Pictures At Home listed the collection in 2014.
The collection is best approached as a historical progression of Universal mummy movies. The presence of the 1932 film in the set does not mean every entry forms one perfectly continuous Imhotep storyline. Kharis is a different central monster, and the cycle’s identity comes from recurring mummy-horror conventions rather than from the Fraser films’ tightly connected adventure plot.
The Mummy (1959): Hammer’s Kharis interpretation
Hammer’s 1959 The Mummy also uses Kharis, played by Christopher Lee. The film draws on Universal’s earlier mummy movies but is not another chapter of the 1932 film’s continuity. It is a separate interpretation made in Hammer’s own gothic-horror style.
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If you want to continue within Hammer’s branch, the associated follow-ups are The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964), The Mummy’s Shroud (1967) and Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971). Start with the 1959 film, then move through those later titles if you want to trace Hammer’s treatment of mummy material. They should not be inserted between the 1999 and 2001 films.
The Brendan Fraser trilogy: 1999, 2001 and 2008
The 1999 The Mummy is described as a loose remake of the 1932 film. It borrows the broad idea of an ancient Egyptian mummy returning to threaten the present, but its tone, characters and continuity are distinct. The result is an action-adventure series rather than a direct scene-by-scene reconstruction of the Boris Karloff movie.
Its direct sequels are The Mummy Returns (2001) and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). These three films form the clearest continuous story among the major branches. Follow the release order because each sequel assumes developments from the preceding film and because the 2008 entry expands the setting beyond the earlier Egyptian material.
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The Mummy (2017): Ahmanet and a new starting point
The 2017 film is a reboot, not a fourth Fraser installment. Universal’s official synopsis describes an ancient princess who is awakened in the present day after being entombed in a desert tomb. The principal cast includes Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari and Russell Crowe; Alex Kurtzman directed.
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The mummy is Princess Ahmanet, played by Sofia Boutella, and the modern protagonist is Nick Morton, played by Tom Cruise. Those characters replace the earlier branch’s central pairing and do not continue Rick O’Connell’s story. Watch the 2017 film on its own terms, without expecting a sequel to the 1999–2008 trilogy.
Who is Imhotep, Kharis or Ahmanet?
Imhotep
Imhotep is the mummy at the center of the 1932 film and the supernatural figure loosely reworked for the 1999 adventure. In the 1932 story he is an Egyptian priest whose 3,700-year-old remains are revived through the Scroll of Thoth. The 1999 version keeps the name and the ancient-Egyptian foundation but places the character in a substantially different action-adventure continuity.
Kharis
Kharis is a mummified high priest used by Universal’s 1940s cycle and by Hammer’s 1959 interpretation. He is not simply another spelling or later name for the 1932 film’s Imhotep. The Kharis stories represent a different monster tradition within the broader Universal mummy legacy, and Hammer’s version adds another independent branch.
Princess Ahmanet
Ahmanet belongs only to the 2017 reboot. She is an ancient princess awakened in the modern day, and her identity gives that film a female mummy at the center of the threat. Because the reboot introduces Ahmanet and Nick Morton rather than reviving Imhotep and Rick O’Connell, it should be treated as a fresh entry point.
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The best viewing order depends on which branch you want
For the Brendan Fraser story
- The Mummy (1999): Begin with the loose remake and its action-adventure version of the mummy myth.
- The Mummy Returns (2001): Continue directly with the first sequel.
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008): Finish the three-film Fraser series with the third entry.
This is the only order needed if your interest is the connected 1999–2008 narrative. Do not add the 2017 film afterward as though it were the next chapter; it is a reboot.
For the classic Universal collection
- Watch The Mummy (1932) first to see Imhotep and the original gothic premise.
- Continue with The Mummy’s Hand, The Mummy’s Tomb, The Mummy’s Ghost and The Mummy’s Curse to follow the Kharis-era run.
- End with Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy if you want the collection’s comic crossover finale.
The six-film set is a physical collection rather than evidence of one uninterrupted protagonist. Its value is that it places the 1932 landmark and the later Kharis cycle together for comparison.
For Hammer’s version
- Start with The Mummy (1959).
- Continue with The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964).
- Watch The Mummy’s Shroud (1967).
- Finish with Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971).
This order follows the release sequence of the Hammer titles identified with its mummy branch. It is separate from both Universal’s 1940s films and the Fraser trilogy.
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Watch The Mummy (2017) as a standalone film. There is no need to watch the earlier movies first to understand Nick Morton, Princess Ahmanet or the film’s present-day premise. Earlier films can provide context for the title’s history, but they are not prerequisites for the reboot’s plot.
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Where does The Scorpion King fit?
The Scorpion King (2002) is a spin-off produced from The Mummy Returns, not a sequel in the main three-film Fraser storyline. It opens a separate branch connected to that property and focuses on the Scorpion King concept rather than making Rick O’Connell’s journey the center of the film.
The spin-off line includes:
- 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)
- Scorpion King: Book of Souls (2018)
For a complete modern-universe watch-through, watch the Fraser trilogy first, then treat the Scorpion King films as an optional spin-off branch. Their existence does not turn the 1932, 1959 or 2017 movies into entries in the same timeline. The 1999 property also generated an animated television series, which is another related form of media rather than a reason to merge every Mummy film into one canon.
Which films are remakes, sequels or reboots?
| Film or group | Relationship | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| The Mummy (1999) | Loose remake of the 1932 concept | Shares the ancient-mummy premise but uses different characters, tone and continuity |
| The Mummy Returns (2001) | Direct sequel | Continues the 1999 adventure branch |
| The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) | Direct sequel | Completes the three-film Fraser series |
| The Mummy (1959) | Independent interpretation based on earlier Universal material | Uses Kharis and leads to Hammer’s own follow-ups |
| The Mummy (2017) | Reboot | Introduces Nick Morton and Princess Ahmanet without continuing Rick O’Connell |
“Remake” should therefore be used narrowly. The 1999 film reworks the 1932 idea, but it is not a continuation of Boris Karloff’s plot. The 1959 production is another interpretation built from earlier mummy material. The 2017 film resets the premise again with a new protagonist and a female mummy.
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- Choose 1932 for the foundational gothic-horror version and Boris Karloff’s Imhotep.
- Choose the Universal six-film collection if you want to compare the 1932 film with the Kharis-era cycle in one package.
- Choose 1959 and the Hammer follow-ups for a separate British gothic interpretation centered on Kharis.
- Choose 1999–2008 for a connected action-adventure trilogy and the main route into the Scorpion King spin-offs.
- Choose 2017 for a standalone contemporary reboot starring Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella.
The simplest answer to “What order should I watch The Mummy movies in?” is to pick one branch and stay inside it. For most viewers seeking a continuous modern story, that means 1999, 2001, then 2008. For the full history of the title, watch the branches separately in their release orders rather than forcing them into a fictional master timeline.
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