May 4th 2001
Universal Pictures
The Mummy Returns was the second movie in the film franchise, which has since spawned further sequels and spin-offs with original and new cast members.
Donna’s appearance in the movie is brief, but at least it comes fairly early on so you don’t have to skip too far to find it. She plays the part of ‘Showgirl with Jonathan’ and it’s hard to miss her.
The Mummy Returns is the 2001 follow-up to 1999’s The Mummy. Set in the 1930s, it brings back the first film’s pairing of Rick and Evelyn O’Connell – Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz – along with their son Alex.
This is also the movie that introduces The Rock, AKA Dwayne Johnson, as the Scorpion King. The following year, Johnson would star as the title role in spin-off movie The Scorpion King.
Donna makes her appearance early, before the main action of the movie really gets underway. She shows up alongside Jonathan (John Hannah) as a money-grabbing would-be girlfriend, to put it in polite terms.
Before you can say “Hey, is that Donna Air?” she’s gone, her cry of “Call me!” met only with a slamming door. There’s no need to watch the rest – she won’t be back.
Brendan Fraser is a vastly underrated actor who always seems to get cast into goofy roles. You may know him from George of the Jungle, for instance. Or perhaps Monkey Bone.
However, he has a serious side too – an artistic nature that goes beyond acting and is perhaps linked with his left-handedness. Visitors to his website will have seen his stunning photography – including shots of Vietnam taken while filming a more serious role in The Quiet American.
Rachel Weisz is a true English rose and made her name with early film appearances in movies such as Chain Reaction and Stealing Beauty.
She was the original Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell in The Mummy franchise, but was replaced in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor by Maria Bello, which always seemed a shame to me.
Dwayne Johnson is better known to many people by his wrestling persona, The Rock. At the time of filming The Mummy Returns, his wrestling storyline had reached a natural break – to allow him to work on the movie – with the official line being that he had been suspended from fighting.
He continued to appear in wrestling bouts for a further few years after The Mummy Returns, but has gradually become more associated with acting on the screen than in the ring.