The project took over a decade to develop, going through multiple abandoned screenplays and attached directors including George A. Romero, Clive Barker (fresh off Hellraiser), and Joe Dante, before Stephen Sommers pitched his adventurous take in 1997 with an 18-page treatment.

Universal originally wanted a low-budget horror franchise akin to a Terminator-style unstoppable mummy; one 1994 Romero draft even had Imhotep awakened by an MRI scan in a modern forensic lab.

The role of Rick O'Connell was offered to Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck before Brendan Fraser was cast, largely due to the box office success of George of the Jungle.

Evelyn Carnahan's name was a tribute to Lady Evelyn Herbert, daughter of Egyptologist Lord Carnarvon, both of whom were present at the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.

Arnold Vosloo won the role of Imhotep after a single audition and lost 10 to 15 pounds by cutting out alcohol and sugar, since he was self-conscious about Imhotep's revealing costume.

Filming took place in Marrakesh and the Sahara Desert near Erfoud, Morocco, where the crew battled dehydration, daily sandstorms, and dangerous wildlife, with several crew members airlifted for medical care after bites or stings.

Brendan Fraser nearly died during the filming of a hanging scene, and cast members had kidnapping insurance taken out on them during the Moroccan shoot.

Arnold Vosloo performed his own motion capture for the Mummy, with scenes first blocked out on set and then re-performed in a separate motion capture studio using eight cameras, and he compared wearing the LED tracking markers to feeling like a Christmas tree.