The Mummy Soundtrack: Composers and Songs by Film

Six composers have scored the six Mummy films, and none of them was hired twice: James Dietrich (1932), Jerry Goldsmith (1999), Alan Silvestri (2001), John Debney (2002), Randy Edelman (2008) and Brian Tyler (2017). The Mummy soundtrack is therefore six separate sounds, and the two Stephen Sommers films with the same leads and the same creature were scored by different people.

Jerry Goldsmith scored The Mummy (1999), directed by Stephen Sommers. Decca Classics released "The Mummy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" on May 4, 1999, with 15 tracks. The cues people search for are "Imhotep", "The Sarcophagus", "Tuareg Attack" and "Camel Race".

Alan Silvestri scored The Mummy Returns (2001), also directed by Sommers. Decca Records released "The Mummy Returns" on May 1, 2001, with 19 tracks, including "The Legend of the Scorpion King", "Imhotep Reborn" and "Bracelet Awakens".

John Debney scored the spin-off The Scorpion King (2002), directed by Chuck Russell. Varèse Sarabande released "The Scorpion King: Original Motion Picture Score" on June 18, 2002, with 14 tracks such as "Main Titles", "Night Attack" and "Mathyus Arises". A separate song album, "The Scorpion King: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture", came out through UMG Soundtracks on March 26, 2002.

Randy Edelman scored The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), directed by Rob Cohen. Varèse Sarabande released "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" on July 29, 2008. It is the longest album of the original run at 30 tracks, and it opens with "A Call to Adventure (theme from Mummy 3)". Other cues include "Formation of the Terra Cotta Army" and "Alex and Lin".

Brian Tyler scored The Mummy (2017), directed by Alex Kurtzman. Back Lot Music released "The Mummy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" on June 9, 2017, with 36 tracks, among them "Nick's Theme", "Prodigium" and "Sandstorm".

James Dietrich is credited as composer on The Mummy (1932), directed by Karl Freund. No soundtrack album exists for that film.

For the full run of releases, see The Mummy movies in order.

The signature song of the franchise is "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" by Live, written for The Mummy Returns (2001), directed by Stephen Sommers. It sits alongside Alan Silvestri's score on the Decca Records release "The Mummy Returns", and it is the one track in the series with a clear claim to being a pop single.

The other films lean on other kinds of music. The Mummy (1932), directed by Karl Freund, plays Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake (Scene, Act II)" over its opening credits, in the same arrangement Universal had used for Dracula in 1931. That choice gives the first mummy film an unusual opening for a monster picture: a ballet theme rather than a fanfare. Original music for the 1932 film is credited to James Dietrich.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), directed by Rob Cohen, features "My Sweet Eternal Love" by Helen Feng. Randy Edelman's score carries the rest of the film, including the opening cue "A Call to Adventure (theme from Mummy 3)".

The Scorpion King (2002), a spin-off directed by Chuck Russell, has the most song driven release in the series. Its companion album, "The Scorpion King: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture", came out on UMG Soundtracks on March 26, 2002, with 16 tracks. Among them are "I Stand Alone", "Set It Off (Tweaker remix)", "Break You", "Streamline", "Yanking Out My Heart", "Losing My Grip", "Only the Strong" and "Iron Head". John Debney's orchestral music is on a separate score album.

The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy (2017) are the opposite case. They are known for Jerry Goldsmith's and Brian Tyler's scores, so a playlist for either film is built from cues such as "Imhotep" and "Nick's Theme" rather than songs.

• "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" by Live: the obvious first choice, and the only song here written for one of the main films.
• "Swan Lake (Scene, Act II)" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: a ballet theme over the credits of a horror film is a bold way to open, and it still works.
• "My Sweet Eternal Love" by Helen Feng: the best vocal moment in the 2008 film, and a change of tone from the brass heavy score around it.
• "I Stand Alone": the album opener of the Scorpion King companion release, which makes it the natural place to start that record.
• "Set It Off (Tweaker remix)": the remix credit makes it the most distinctive title on that album.
• "Only the Strong": a fitting title for a film about a warrior who becomes a king.

If you want to hear these in context, where to watch the mummy shows what is streaming in the US, UK and Australia. For the people on screen, see the mummy cast, and for the full film list, head to the mummy movies.