"The Mummy's Hand" was made after the financial success of two other Universal Products: "Son of Frankenstein" and "The Invisible Man Returns" which led to the studio making a follow-up to "The Mummy". The film had what was described as a "modest" budget and reuses footage from "The Mummy" as well as reusing nearly the entire score from "Son of Frankenstein". The film was shot with a planned budget of $80,000 but went $4,000 over-budget as production completed. The film was released on September 20, 1940 and was followed by a sequel titled "The Mummy's Tomb" in 1942.