Since Hollywood has been trying its hand at adapting video games into movies, there have been few successes and tons of failures. While most of the root causes for these video game movies’ failures stem from a bad story or poor casting, many fail because they attempt to change the source material. The newMortal Kombatmovie reboot, however, is hoping to stay as true to the spirit of the fighting game as possible.
Mortal Kombatscreenwriter Greg Russo took to Twitter to clear up any confusion regarding the approach of the forthcoming reboot. According to Russo, theMortal Kombatreboot will be rated R and it will feature the fighting game series’ classic fatalities. He wouldn’t say which fatalities players can expect, but just the concept should be enough to get fans excited.
While the firstMortal Kombatmovies were not among the worst that Hollywood has delivered in the video game adaptation realm, most agree that they could have been better. Whether or not that comes down to the films’ toned down violence is up for debate, but giving fans a true, Rated-R movie should be enticing enough. Add in theultra-violent fatalitiesand it seems as though the filmmakers are on the right path.
As far as theMortal Kombatreboot’s plot, all we know at this point is that the filmmakers are trying to veer closer to the source material. NetherRealm Studios’ fighting game has actually done a surprisingly good job of weaving story into its main mode, both by reimagining events from the early games and then building a whole new lore with the Kombat Kids.
Most likely, theMortal Kombatmovie rebootwill play off the original tournament storyline and focus on the core cast of characters that fans know well. Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, Raiden, and Scorpion all seem like shoe-ins to feature in the cast, if only for the name recognition and marketing potential.
Thus far, though, onlySub Zero has been castfor the film, but announcements should continue over the next few months. Apparently, the film is set to start filming in South Australia with Simon McQuoid directing and James Wan (Aquaman) producing.
