Narrator

The Narrator is the storyteller of The Mummy, The Mummy Returns and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, in the two first films, Ardeth Bay is the narrator, and in the third film, Zi Yuan is the narrator.

Ardeth Bay's narration in The Mummy:
Thebes, City of the Living. Crown jewel of Pharaoh Seti the First. Home of Imhotep, Pharaoh's high priest, keeper of the dead. Birthplace of Anck-su-namun, Pharaoh's mistress. No other man was allowed to touch her. But for their love, they were willing to risk life itself.

To resurrect Anck-su-namun, Imhotep and his priests broke into her crypt and stole her body. They raced deep into the desert, taking Anck-su-namun's corpse to Hamunaptra, City of the Dead, ancient burial site for the sons of pharaohs, and resting place for the wealth of Egypt. For his love, Imhotep dared the gods' anger by going deep into the city where he took the black Book of the Dead from its holy resting place. Anck-su-namun's soul had been sent to the dark underworld, her vital organs removed and placed in five sacred canopic jars. Anck-su-namun's soul had come back from the dead, but Pharaoh's bodyguards had followed Imhotep and stopped him before the ritual could be completed.

Imhotep's priests were condemned to be mummified alive. As for Imhotep, he was condemned to endure the Hom-Dai, the worst of all ancient curses. One so horrible that it had never before been bestowed. He was to remain sealed inside his sarcophagus--the undead for all of eternity. The Magi would never allow him to be released for he would arise a walking disease, a plague upon mankind...an unholy flesh eater with the strength of ages...power over the sands...and the glory of invincibility. For 3,000 years, men and armies fought over this land...never knowing what evil lay beneath it. And for 3,000 years...we the Magi, the descendants of Pharaoh's sacred bodyguards, kept watch.


Ardeth Bay's narration in The Mummy Returns:

Five thousand years ago, a fierce warrior known as the Scorpion King led a great army on a campaign to conquer the known world. After a vicious campaign that lasted seven long years, the Scorpion King and his army were defeated, and driven deep into the sacred desert of Ahm Shere. One by one, they slowly perished under the scorching sun, until only the great warrior himself was left alive. Near death, the Scorpion King made a pact with the dark god Anubis, that if Anubis would spare his life, and let him conquer his enemies, he would give him his soul. Anubis accepted his offer and spared his life. Anubis gave the Scorpion King command of his army, and like an evil flood, they washed away all that lay before them. When his task was done, Anubis forced the Scorpion King to serve him for all time. His army returned to the sands from whence they came, where they wait, silently to be awakened once again.

Zi Yuan's narration in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Long ago, a mythic battle between good and evil, played out in ancient China. The country was torn by civil war, with many kingdoms struggling for land and power. But one king had a ruthless ambition to become Emperor by the sword. The other leaders hired assassins to kill the king, before he could conquer them all. Kingdom by kingdom, his army swept away everything in its path, and anyone who resisted met a terrible fate. The country was his. He was now Emperor of All Under Heaven. He enslaved his conquered enemies and forced them to build his Great Wall. When they were dead or useless, he had them buried beneath it. The Emperor's mystics taught him mastery over the five elements, fire, water, earth, wood and metal. His power seemed without limit. He was master of millions, but like the lowliest peasant, he could not stop growing old. He needed to defeat his last enemy, death itself. One day, news came of a powerful witch, who was rumored to know the secret to eternal life. He ordered General Ming, his oldest friend and trusted ally, to find her. The witch was named Zi Yuan, and she was nothing like the General expected. On the Western borders stood the Monastery of Turfan. There was housed the greatest library in the ancient world, and Zi Yuan was sure the secret to eternal life was here. It was the long-lost oracle bones, a collection of all the mystical secrets of the ancient world. The Emperor's answer was here along with other magic beyond imagining. She cast the spell in Sanskrit, and ancient language that the Emperor did not understand. The curse must never be lifted, or the Emperor will arise again, to enslave all of mankind. On that dark day, there will be nothing and no one to save us.

Appearances

• The Mummy (Ardeth Bay's first narration)
• The Mummy Returns (Ardeth Bay's second and final narration)
• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Zi Yuan's first and only narration)