In one scene, Dwayne Johnson, lying on his back, springs to his feet. Director Chuck Russell wanted to include a physical feat which only Johnson could perform. Russell said he had never seen a 6-foot, 3-inch man do that.
Dwayne Johnson's $5.5 million salary made the Guinness Book of Records for the highest salary for a first-time leading man.
In 1995 Egyptologists discovered a 5400 year old limestone carving in Egypt known as the "Scorpion Tableau." It depicts the victory of a ruler called the Scorpion King in a battle that unified Upper Egypt, which was a prelude to the complete unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by Narmer, the first Pharaoh of Egypt. This film is a fictionalized depiction of a historical event about which very little is known. Some historians believe that Narmer, the first Pharaoh, was himself The Scorpion King.
Dwayne Johnson has said that to give the Scorpion King character a life of its own, he intentionally shied away from using any trademarks of his WWF character, The Rock. The only exception was "The People's Eyebrow," which he does in response to another character's reference to a harem. He said he included it to acknowledge the "millions and millions" of Rock fans. The score briefly includes The Rock's entry music.
While filming the fight scene between Mathayus and Balthazar, Michael Clarke Duncan accidentally leaned too far forward, allowing Dwayne Johnson's elbow to make direct contact with his jaw, knocking him to the ground.