‘Mortal Kombat’ Movie First Look At Characters And Storyline

We've gotten our first look at the new Mortal Kombat movie in this set of stills, and at the moment, it appears to be a sober and serious interpretation of the classic fighting game series.

These come courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, along with an interview with director Simon McQuoid. The movie's cast is star-studded: Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson "Jax" Briggs, Josh Lawson as Kano, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, and Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, to name only a handful of the characters. Of course, the 1995 movie is beloved for its clunky and cheesy dialogue, ridiculous mish-mash of special and practical effects, and unapologetic absence of a coherent plot, but on the face of it, McQuoid's movie is a definite departure from that tone.

"We did a bit of research and the kunai is actually an ancient Japanese gardening tool," explained the director, stating that Scorpion's iconic kunai will be a central part of the movie. "So, one of the earliest shots in the movie is the kunai blade being used as a gardening tool by Hanzo's wife." Indeed, he was keen to express that this will be a movie that delves into the brutality of Mortal Kombat, pushing the bright colours and acerbic snark of the games aside. "There are some great camera moves to give it a bit of dynamism, that make it really enjoyable. We needed it to be really elemental and really brutal," he continued. "It's not a shiny film... I wanted the dirt and the grime to come through."

These stills show it, too. Hats off to the makeup artists and costume designers, who have slapped on some very gnarly cuts, grazes, and scars across the characters. We also see Sonya holding Kano to account in the middle of a desolate wasteland, and Bi-Han and Scorpion in a scuffle in what might be the opening sequence of the movie.

Lewis Tan, previously in the role of a mystery character in the movie, has also been revealed to be playing Cole Young, a brand new character to the world of Mortal Kombat. Strangely enough, the fighter has a birthmark on his chest that is reminiscent of the games' symbol. With Sub-Zero hunting him down, Cole and his mark "will eventually tie into the journey that he's going on."

It additionally promises to be a spectacle for fans of the series and of action movies alike, with "gore, blood, and fatalities" galore. "We need to be smart about how we go about [the fights]," said the director. "There are times, you'll see when you see the movie, when it's just, 'F--- it! Let's have some fun.'" The movie is set to release on April 16th, 2021, though work is far from over for McQuoid and company. "There are some crazy fatalities," confirmed Tan. "We've picked a couple of iconic ones. There's a lot of really cool signature moves that you'll see, a lot of Easter eggs that we snuck into the film, but there are some really badass fatalities that I can't wait to see on the big screen. They're brutal, man. They, they don't hold back."

Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures / Entertainment Weekly

Topics: Movies, News, Mortal Kombat