The Book of Souls

The Book of Souls is a 2020 action-adventure fantasy film directed by, from a screenplay written by and Richard Shepard. The film is developed by Shatara Studios and, distributed by and will release on September 18, 2020.

The film establishes a shared universe with , with a sequel expected to release in Q4 2023, cumulatively forming a trilogy of works.

Premise
Thousands of years ago, King Memtep conspired with Anubis, lord of the dead, to fashion a spear that could reap any man or monster and entrap its soul in an inscribed book. This spear would present the might of its wielder to be able to conquer all, and bring prosperity to the world. But its abstract powers is sought after by the most relentless of mortals, and so it was hidden away from the naked eye, only until the man known as the Scorpion King would come and retrieve it; or else, there will be hell on Earth.

Plot
The film revolves around Mathayus being recruited by Princess Tala to aid a group of villagers to escape from captivity in Nubia, while he's secretly been sought for as the legendary Scorpion King, who will retrieve the Fang of Anubis and destroy it, in order to prevent Tala's malicious uncle, King Memtep, from using its connections with the Book of Souls to raise an army of the dead, reanimated as a Terracotta Army.

In an mid-credits scene taking place on December 25, 2019, pioneer Nick Morton and Colonel Chris Vail uncovers remnants of the Fang of Anubis while on a mission to expose the Prodigium.

Cast

 * as Mathayus, the Scorpion King; a noble blacksmith who is approached by Princess Tala to retrieve the Fang of Anubis and become the worthy Scorpion King.
 * as Princess Tala; daughter of Prince Balthazar, who objects to her uncle King Memtep's goals and seeks out the prophesized Scorpion King.
 * as King Memtep; a ruthless king over Nubia who conspires with Anubis to raise souls into the Terracotta Army and eventually bonds with Anubis.
 * as Anubis; god of the underworld who created the Fang of Anubis and plays both sides with King Memtep and the Scorpion King.
 * as Enkidu; a stone golem created by King Memtep using a restless spirit from the Book of Souls who acts as Memtep's muscle.
 * as Prince Balthazar (flashbacks only) ; father of Princess Tala and brother of King Memtep who was executed by Enkidu when he disapproved his brother's turn to darkness.
 * as Nick Morton (mid-credits scene only) ; a pioneer set out to expose the monster-hunting organization Prodigium who is also bonded with Set, the god of the dead.
 * as Chris Vail (mid-credits scene only) ; a former colonel and close friend to Nick Morton who aids him in exposing the monster-hunting organization Prodigium.

Trivia

 * The film is a feature-length remake of the direct-to-video film ', which was released on October 23, 2018. The is a prequel to ' franchise, which was rebooted with.
 * will reprise his role as Nick Morton from ' in an end-credits scene. This establishes The Mummy and The Book of Souls in a new shared universe, retconning the former from Universal's '.
 * The sequel will be a buddy comedy between Mathayus and Nick Morton, but will ultimately be centralized on the Scorpion King's destiny to defeat Princess Ahmanet.