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Tag: Mortal Kombat

  • ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Finds its Shao Kahn as Many Familiar Faces Return

    ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Finds its Shao Kahn as Many Familiar Faces Return

    It looks like the sequel to 2021’s Mortal Kombat has been quite busy casting throughout the last few months, as they are unveiling a slew of new characters joining the upcoming sequel. Surprisingly, we also finally have some news on who is set to return from the first film, which was surprisingly kept quiet up until this point even with the massive cast that the film had. Let’s kick it off with the big additions with some familiar names.

    We already know that Karl Urban, Tati Gabrielle, and Adeline Rudolph have joined the cast. Now, we’ve also learned that Martyn Ford will play the one and only Shao Kahn. Desmond Chiam will take on the role of Kiong Jerrod. while Ana Thu Nguyen and Damon Herriman are playing Sindel and Quan Chi respectively. It looks like we’re about to see many more faces from beyond the Earthrealm in the upcoming sequel.

    They are joining an already massive cast with Lewis Tan’s Cole Young, Jessica McNamee’s Sonya Balde, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin’s Liu Kang, Chin Han’s Shang Tsung, Max Huang as Kung Lao, and Tadanobu Asano’s Lord Raiden. Surprisingly, there’s mention that Joe Taslim is also going to return as Bi-Han in the sequel, but there’s no mention if we might see Kuai Liang in the sequel.

    They also mention Josh Lawson’s Kano as part of the cast, as the character also faced an untimely end in that film. There’s no mention of Mileena or Kabal appearing in the sequel, but there’s still a chance they could appear if they introduce Revenants. Hiroyuki Sanada is also going to once again play Scorpion, who was the highlight in the 2021 release.

    Source: The Hollywood reporter

  • ‘Mortal Kombat’ Sequel Finds its Kitana

    ‘Mortal Kombat’ Sequel Finds its Kitana

    Mortal Kombat‘s next film is finally revving up. Surprisingly, the film had one of the biggest releases on HBO Max during the day-and-date release strategy but somehow Warner Bros. has been quite hesitant about getting the next one into production. While the WGA strike is running, casting is still moving forward for the sequel with the latest addition Adeline Rudolph joining the production as Kitana.

    The actress actually starred opposite Tati Gabrielle in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, who is also going to appear in the film. They are the third addition after Karl Urban was recently confirmed to take the iconic role of Johnny Cage. While we might have to wait a bit longer until we see him with the tattoo of his first name across the chest, it’s still looking like Simon McQuoid is ready to start production on the sequel.

    2021’s Mortal Kombat wasn’t quite the faithful adaptation of the original games that people hoped it would be, but it still offered some of the fun charms. Fatalities weren’t kept a secret and it still tried to establish its own unique take on the lore of the original; though it was weird that the first Mortal Kombat film was more a prequel to the tournament of the same name. Still, we’ll see if the second one offers what the first couldn’t.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Mortal Kombat 1’ Leak Confirms Heroic and Bloody Additions

    ‘Mortal Kombat 1’ Leak Confirms Heroic and Bloody Additions

    Mortal Kombat 1 dropped its first trailer in style with a lot of fanfare. It already has many wondering who else might join the roster of the September release, and it seems that Amazon Italy may have accidentally leaked who will be part of the first Kombat Pack. It seems that the recent rumors are true and we’re getting some bloody good heroic additions for this R-rated game that has seen horror icons and 90s stars.

    According to Amazon Italy, Mortal Kombat 1’s Kombat Pack 1 (say that ten times) will include some familiar characters from the franchise’s past. The list includes Quan Chi, Ermac, and Kenshin’s son Takeda. While Takeda is a curious addition given the reboot technically would bring back Kenshin first rather than his son given the timeline, that isn’t the thing that likely had everyone’s eyes on it.

    The game will continue the tradition of including third-party characters and it seems they are going in a heroic direction this time around. Given the rise in R-rated superhero offerings, it’s not a surprise but the additions are quite interesting. We have Invincible’s Omni Man, DC’s Peacemaker, and The Boys‘ Homelander included in the list.

    Homelander was a fan-favorite addition given his unhinged behavior in the Amazon series. Ironically, the inclusion of Omni Man also adds fuel to the fire of finally getting to see these two Superman-inspired characters to prove which one is more powerful. Though, we don’t know which version of Homelander is going to be brought to the game, as they could either go with the comic design or Antony Starr’s version. They did bring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone to life in Mortal Kombat 11. So, anything is possible if they have the rights.

    Source: GameSpot

  • ‘Mortal Kombat’ Sequel Finds its Jade in ‘You’ Star

    ‘Mortal Kombat’ Sequel Finds its Jade in ‘You’ Star

    Simon McQuoid is back in the director’s chair for the Mortal Kombat sequel. The film will pick up where the last one ended, as the team heads out towards the actual tournament that wasn’t really touched upon in the first film. While we recently heard Karl Urban has been in final negotiations to play the role of Johnny Cage, it seems one more iconic character is set to return.

    The Hollywood Reporter has unveiled that Tati Gabrielle, who appeared in You and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, has joined the sequel to the 2021 streaming hit. She’ll take on the role of Jade, who is the bodyguard of Princess Kitana in the original gaming series.

    For now, Jessica McNamee and Josh Lawson are expected to reprise their roles from the original. It’s uncertain who else might join as of now and what direction the story might take. It’ll likely take some cues from Mortal Kombat 2 and 3 given how much ground they will try to cover with this storyline.

    For now, we can only speculate as there has also been no mention of Hiroyuki Sanada returning as the iconic Scorpion. His bout with Sub-Zero was the highlight of the first film and there’s still a lot more story left to tell going into a sequel. Of course, he’s not technically the “main” character but was a big draw to many fans even with the gaming franchise. He was the highlight of the poster so it’ll be interesting to see if they try not to be too dependent on him.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Mortal Kombat’ Reboot to Include Kameo Fighters & Immersive Story Campaign

    ‘Mortal Kombat’ Reboot to Include Kameo Fighters & Immersive Story Campaign

    Seems the rumors have turned out true, as Mortal Kombat has skipped the 12 and just cut one of the 1. Mortal Kombat 11‘s story has set up a new era for the iconic Kombatants and now, Mortal Kombat 1 will continue the story of the Fire God Liu Kang’s new world. The first trailer has finally arrived hinting at quite a few familiar faces including the fact that Shang Tsung will be the pre-order bonus for new players.

    That isn’t all, as we will also seemingly get an “immersive story campaign” that might give players the choice to once again change the course of time. Of course, it’s just a theory based on how the story trailer hints at how the story might play out with familiar faces facing a familiar foe. The game is set to release on 19th September of this year across all consoles and PC. The game will be a pure next-gen experience as PS4 and Xbox One have not been mentioned.

    This marks another reboot of the franchise that builds on a similar style of how Mortal Kombat 9 used an existing character from a previous universe to rewrite time. Though, they may have given us a younger Raiden this time around with a more human backstory as his role has been passed on to Liu Kang. They will be joined by Kitana, Mileena, Scorpion, and Sub-Zero. It’s unclear if Shang-Tsung is the main antagonist or just a misleading addition to the trailer.

    The other big addition is the so-called “Kameo Fighters.” They have seemingly reworked the system to include the opportunity to have an additional type of character that can support you during Kombat. The trailer doesn’t give away and some early rumors hint at characters like DC’s Peacemaker or The Boys‘ Homelander potentially joining the roster. We will also receive DLC in the form of Kombat Pack that confirms Johnny Cage in the game, who will have a skin that makes him look like his original inspiration, Jean-Claude Van Damme.

    It’ll be available at launch and also include early access to six new post-launch characters and five Kameo Fighters. Sadly, Day 1 DLC remains a constant in the industry and it seems it won’t be going away anytime. EArly access to six characters sounds rather curious though, as it almost implies that it’ll be a games-as-a-service type deal. We’ll have to see once more is shown from the September release.

    Source: EuroGamer

  • ‘Mortal Kombat’ Producer Confirms Production Start for Sequel

    ‘Mortal Kombat’ Producer Confirms Production Start for Sequel

    Mortal Kombat was released during the pandemic back in 2021 as part of Warner Bros.’s ambitious yet futile attempt at boasting streaming and theatrical numbers. While nowadays it has taken a bad rep, it still led to some films getting a stronger reputation than they otherwise might’ve pulled when the box office was still just a major question mark. The video game adaptation went on to become one of HBO Max’s biggest releases and after a long wait, it seems the sequel is finally picking up some steam.

    We still know very little about the sequel, especially if it’ll continue to follow the story of Lewis Tan’s Cole Young or potentially move away from the original character. One of the highlights was Joe Taslim and Hiroyuki Sanada’s Sub-Zero and Scorpion, which also had one of the better stories in the film that received mixed reviews from critics (ironically not that different from the current Super Mario Bros. Movie that might reignite interest in video game adaptations).

    While we haven’t heard much about the project in some time, it seems producer Todd Garner may have accidentally confirmed that production is set to start in June. He quotes retweeted a statement by Geek Vibes Nation on the production cycle being mapped from June to September in Australia with the cheeky reaction “I was wondering why I had an apt in Australia....” pretty much confirming that is where they’ll be heading.

    If they are indeed planning on filming in a few months, we might get some casting announcements in the coming months. It’s still surprising it took them over two years to start rolling the cameras on a film that was generally considered a streaming success but sometimes it’s best to give projects enough time. They may be trying to address some of the issues pointed out in the initial release as they prepare to expand the franchise.

    Source: Twitter, ComicBook.com

  • ‘Mortal Kombat 12’ Confirmed for 2023 Release

    ‘Mortal Kombat 12’ Confirmed for 2023 Release

    There’s been a long silence on what exactly NetherRealm Studios is currently working on. As we just had the release of Mortal Kombat 11, most assumed we’d see the third entry to Injustice finally make its way to modern consoles but it turns out, they are developing a direct sequel to Mortal Kombat after all.

    During the Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call, they talked about the future of their major releases, especially highlighting what they have planned for 2023. Among them, they talked about the Suicide Squad game that was just showcased during the PlayStation State of Play and confirmed that 2023 will see the release of Mortal Kombat 12.

    The shocking reveal does hint that we’d see an official announcement or teaser in the coming weeks, but it is bizarre to think it was just randomly dropped in an Investor’s call of all places. The fact it’s also eyeing a 2023 release means we’ll likely get a first look sooner rather than later, but if it’s a Holiday release we may have to wait a bit until E3 or any other gaming event later this summer.

    Source: ComicBook.com

  • ‘Mortal Kombat’ RPG Game Announced For Mobile

    ‘Mortal Kombat’ RPG Game Announced For Mobile

    Currently celebrating the franchise’s 30th anniversary, Warner Bros. has announced a brand new Mortal Kombat game. The catch? It’s not the follow-up to Mortal Kombat 11 nor is it a sequel to the cult-classic Shaolin Monks but, rather, a new “collection RPG” for mobile called Mortal Kombat: Onslaught.

    Warner Bros. Games today announced Mortal Kombat: Onslaught, a new collection role-playing game (RPG) launching globally in 2023 for mobile devices. Developed and co-published by award-winning NetherRealm Studios, Mortal Kombat: Onslaught will feature the first mobile-exclusive cinematic story experience for the franchise, where players must build a team of fighters from a vast roster of characters – and unleash them in massive real-time group battles to stop a dark and dangerous threat from wreaking havoc across the realms.

    The franchise’s expansion to mobile doesn’t come as a surprise as Mortal Kombat Mobile continues to break records on every app store. Sadly, the announcement does come at the expense of disappointment as fans impatiently wait for the next-gen installment of the franchise. Many expected the latest fighting game to be announced at the cusp of the 30th anniversary but no announcement has been made. The good news is all signs point to an announcement in this year’s Game Awards, where all previous Mortal Kombat games were unveiled.

    Source: Polygon

  • ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Writer Says Johnny Cage’s Screen Time in the Sequel is “Up in the Air”

    ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Writer Says Johnny Cage’s Screen Time in the Sequel is “Up in the Air”

    After a long stretch of silence, fans are finally being fed some information on New Line Cinema’s upcoming Mortal Kombat sequel. The latest bit of news comes from the film’s writer, Jeremy Slater, who recently spoke with Comic Book about the process of developing a second entry that’s even bigger and better than the first. A promise made at the very end of 2021’s franchise starter was that one of the series’ main protagonists, Johnny Cage, would make his grand return to the big screen in the next installment. Slater is stating this promise will indeed come to fruition, as the creatives behind the movie have no intentions of lying to fans:

    Johnny Cage is one of my favorite characters, and I think there’s definitely a promise with the way the first movie ends of seeing Cole being like, ‘Okay, my next stop is to go recruit Johnny.’ So I think if he wasn’t included in the sequel at all, it would feel very strange.

    Jeremy Slater

    Curiously, however, Slater is not yet sure just how involved Cage will be in the story of Mortal Kombat 2. It’s easy to assume the first movie’s stinger was to set up Cage as a major player for the second go-around, but the former Moon Knight writer wants to focus on making a story that works before he forces in more Johnny than necessary:

    It’s still a little bit up in the air how much he will be included, it’s one of the things we’re currently working on. But yeah, I love Johnny and I would love to really do the definitive version, if possible, and really take everything that’s fun about that character and bring that to live action.

    Jeremy Slater

    In the video games, Johnny Cage is a movie star and expert martial artist who enters his first Mortal Kombat tournament as a way of proving he doesn’t rely on doubles or effects in his films. Eventually, however, he would find himself teaming with warrior monk Liu Kang, special operative Sonya Blade, and the thunder god Raiden to take down Shang Tsung and save Earth, falling in love with Blade and discovering his true potential in the process. He was portrayed by Linden Ashby and Chris Conrad in previous live-action adaptations, though he has yet to be cast for the next movie outing.

    Source: Comic Book

  • ‘Moon Knight’s Jeremy Slater Offers Update on ‘Mortal Kombat’ Sequel

    ‘Moon Knight’s Jeremy Slater Offers Update on ‘Mortal Kombat’ Sequel

    Now that head writer Jeremy Slater has finished work on Moon Knight, he’s already hard at work on his next major project. In an interview with The Direct, he offered a small update on the sequel of 2021’s Mortal Kombat film. While it wasn’t received warmly going by its Rotten Tomatoes rating but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming HBO Max’s most-watched film to date. In the interview, he reveals that they’re already “halfway through the script.”

    It’s really fun so far. We’re about halfway through the script. I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’ So we’re really looking at this as a chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.

    Jeremy Slater

    When asked how it might compare to his work on Moon Knight, he does highlight that it’ll keep his “sensibilities” but it definitely will continue what makes Mortal Kombat such an iconic series, its showcase of brutal takedowns of its heroes and villains.

    I don’t think it’s necessarily going to have the same tone as the MCU, but it’s definitely going to have some of my sensibilities. That was part of my pitch to them. This is Mortal Kombat. We have guys who are ripping off their faces and breathing fire—it’s a weird universe, let’s embrace some of that weirdness, and let’s make a Mortal Kombat sequel that no one is expecting and that can kind of sneak in and blow everyone away. We’re still really early in that process, but I’m having a blast with this script

    Jeremy Slater

    The first film ended with a massive teaser of Johnny Cage finding his way into the film. It also only set up the actual Mortal Kombat tournament, as it was mostly a very Hollywood-esque prequel series leading into the main conflict from the games. Luckily, they are now unshackled and can potentially jump into it in the next film if that is the plan, as they could also be building up towards it by the end of a trilogy.

    Source: The Direct