Entertainment Weekly has finally unveiled a first look at the upcoming Mortal Kombat film slated to air on HBO Max and theaters this April. The film is set to introduce a brand new protagonist by the name of Cole Young, played by Lewis Tan, alongside all the iconic characters we’ve come to know and love. Check out the first images below!
The report gives us a glimpse of the film’s premise; Cole Young is a washed-up MMA fighter who has an unusual birthmark on his chest that puts him on Shang Tsung’s radar. From there, he squares off with Sub Zero and meets Jax and the rest of the protagonists of the game. Raiden, who will finally be portrayed by an Asian actor, leads Cole to a sanctuary of warriors bearing the same mark. In the sanctuary, Cole begins his training to partake in a tournament to defend Earthrealm from outside invaders.
It’s all silly, really, and very par for the course for the Mortal Kombat lore. It doesn’t make it any less exciting, however. Seeing them nail the casting, in particular the characters of Asian descent, is pretty amazing. Getting Joe Taslim and Hiroyuki Sanada to play the most iconic characters of the game, Sub-Zero and Scorpion respectively is absolutely brilliant. I’m very mixed on them introducing a brand new character when there’s no shortage of great characters in the MK lore. I’m hoping they subvert that by having this Cole Young be actually someone from the game in a twist. Jax’s arms look sick while Kano’s design looks so muted. Judging the images solely for how they look, it does kind of resemble some Syfy shows.
All that said, this movie is still a must-see for me simply because I’m a huge fan of the games.
Source: EW
