Double bill of action films. In 'The Scorpion King' (2002), set 5000 years ago in the Middle East, wrestling superstar The Rock reprises his role as the warrior Mathayus from 'The Mummy Returns'. Sent on a mission to assassinate Cassandra (Kelly Hu), the powerful sorceress advisor to King Memnon (Steven Brand), Mathayus is captured and left to die in the desert. Managing to survive, the brave warrior returns and kidnaps the sorceress, but as he makes his escape, he is struck by an arrow dipped in scorpion poison... In 'The Scorpion King 2 - Rise of a Warrior' (2008), warned against joining the Emperor of Akkad's elite fighting warriors, the Black Scorpions, by his father Ashur (Peter Butler), Mathayus (Michael Copon) ignores his advice and sets off to enlist. Falling foul of the evil Sargon (Randy Couture), commander of the army, Mathayus is rescued by his father and pardoned by the Emperor Hammurabi (Az Abrahams) in exchange for joining the Black Scorpions. When Sargon then murders Ashur, Mathayus bides his time, honing his skills in the Black Scorpions until a time that he can exact vengeance. After finally graduating as a master swordsman, Mathayus meets Sargon, now Emperor after murdering Hammurabi, who convinces him to swear his allegiance. But after Sargon imprisons and kills Mathayus's brother on a trumped up charge, Mathayus discovers that Sargon can only be killed using a magical sword that has to be retrieved from the underworld. With his childhood friend (and love-interest) Layla (Karen Shenaz David) and new accomplice Aristophanes (Simon Quarterman) along for the ride, Mathayus sets off on his quest.