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| distributor = [[Warner Bros. Pictures]]
| distributor = [[Warner Bros. Pictures]]
| released = {{Film date|2021|4|8|International|2021|04|23|United States}}
| released = {{Film date|2021|4|8|International|2021|04|23|United States}}
| runtime = 110 mins
| country = United States<br>Australia
| country = United States<br>Australia
| language = English
| language = English

Revision as of 22:25, 9 April 2021

Mortal Kombat
Teaser poster with original release date
Directed bySimon McQuoid
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Oren Uziel
  • Greg Russo
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGermain McMicking
Edited by
  • Dan Lebental
  • Scott Gray
Music byBenjamin Wallfisch
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • April 8, 2021 (2021-04-08) (International)
  • April 23, 2021 (2021-04-23) (United States)
Running time
110 mins
CountriesUnited States
Australia
LanguageEnglish

Mortal Kombat is an American martial arts fantasy action film directed by Simon McQuoid (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham and a story by Oren Uziel and Russo.[1] It is based on the video game franchise of the same name created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, serving as a reboot to the Mortal Kombat film series. The film stars Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada.

Following the critical and commercial failure of the 1997 film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, a third Mortal Kombat film languished in development hell for a period of nearly two decades. In late 2010, Warner Bros. Pictures, which parent company, Warner Bros. Entertainment, acquired the franchise from Midway Games in 2009, began developing a new film, with Kevin Tancharoen serving as director from a script written by Uziel in the wake of their Mortal Kombat: Rebirth short film. James Wan was announced as a producer in August 2015 and McQuoid was hired as director in November 2016. Production took place at Adelaide Studios in Adelaide and at other locations in South Australia. Principal photography occurred from September to December 2019.

Mortal Kombat was theatrically released internationally on April 8, 2021, and scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on April 23, 2021, simultaneously in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service.

Premise

A washed-up MMA fighter is unaware of his hidden lineage or why he is being hunted down by Sub-Zero of the Lin-Kuei clan of assassins. Concerned for the safety of his family, he seeks out a team of fighters who were chosen to defend Earthrealm in a high-stakes battle against the forces of Outworld.[2][3]

Cast

Production

Development

James Wan, Todd Garner (on the photo above), E. Bennett Walsh, and director Simon McQuoid serve as producers for the reboot.

In 1997, Robin Shou's original Mortal Kombat contract was a three-picture deal,[12] and Threshold Entertainment's production on a second sequel was initially scheduled to commence shortly after the release of Annihilation, but it was shelved due to Annihilation's poor reception and disappointing box-office performance. Attempts to produce a third film since then have remained stuck in development hell with numerous script rewrites and storyline, cast, and crew changes. A November 2001 poll on the official Mortal Kombat website hosted by Threshold asked fans which characters they believed would die in the third movie.[13] The 2005 destruction of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina greatly affected one of the film's planned shooting locations.[14] In June 2009, a bankruptcy court lawsuit saw Lawrence Kasanoff suing Midway Games while mentioning that a third film was in the works. Warner Bros. Pictures (which became the parent of New Line Cinema in 2008, after over a decade of both operating as separate divisions of Time Warner) ended up purchasing most of Midway's assets, including Mortal Kombat.[15]

In 2010, director Kevin Tancharoen released an eight-minute short film titled Mortal Kombat: Rebirth,[16] made as a pitch to Warner Bros. Pictures of a reboot of the Mortal Kombat film franchise.[17] In September 2011, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. announced that Tancharoen was hired to direct a new feature-length film from a screenplay by Mortal Kombat: Rebirth writer Oren Uziel,[18] with the intention of aiming for an R rating.[19] Shooting was expected to begin in March 2012 with a budget projected at between $40–50 million[20] and a release date of 2013.[21][22] However, the project was ultimately delayed due to budget constraints, and Tancharoen began working on the second season of the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy until problems with the film had been sorted out, but he quit the film production in October 2013.[23]

James Wan signed on as the film's producer in August 2015.[24] Simon McQuoid was hired as director in November 2016, marking his feature directorial debut, with Greg Russo writing the script.[25][26] Russo tweeted in February 2019 that the film's script was complete.[26] In May 2019, it was announced that the film had entered pre-production and would be shot in South Australia,[27] with a release date of March 5, 2021.[28] Russo tweeted in July 2019 that the film would indeed have an R rating and that the games' Fatalities would "finally be on the big screen".[29]

Casting

Joe Taslim was the first actor cast for the production in July 2019, as Bi-Han, the first Sub-Zero.[30][31] In August, Mehcad Brooks, Tadanobu Asano, Sisi Stringer, and Ludi Lin were cast in the roles of Jax, Raiden, Mileena, and Liu Kang respectively.[32] Later that month, Josh Lawson, Jessica McNamee, Chin Han and Hiroyuki Sanada were cast as Kano, Sonya Blade, Shang Tsung and Scorpion respectively, with Lewis Tan in the role of Cole Young, an original character created for the film.[33][34] On September 16, 2019, it was announced that Max Huang had been cast as Kung Lao.[6] Elissa Cadwell was announced as having been cast as Nitara on November 11, 2019.[8] Matilda Kimber was cast in on December 4, 2019.[35]

Filming

Production took place at Adelaide Studios and other locations in South Australia.[36] Shooting lasted from September 16 to December 13, 2019.[37] Todd Garner stated that "we have more days to shoot" in his statement regarding the film's release delay.[38] The movie was shot on the ARRI ALEXA LF and Mini LF cameras with Panavision Anamorphic lenses.[39]

Music

The score for Mortal Kombat was composed by Benjamin Wallfisch.[40] In March 2021, director Simon McQuoid revealed that Wallfisch actually began compositions for the film before he was officially hired on the project and that the film will include a new version of the track "Techno Syndrome" by The Immortals [41] produced by Wallfisch.

Release

Theatrical and streaming

Mortal Kombat was theatrically released internationally, beginning on April 8, 2021.[42] The film is currently set to be released on April 23, 2021, in the United States.[43] The film was originally going to be released on March 5, 2021 before being moved up to January 15, 2021.[44] In November 2020, producer Todd Garner confirmed that the film would be delayed until theaters are reopened due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[38] before it was finally dated for release on April 16.[45] As part of its plans for all of its 2021 films, Warner Bros. will also stream the film simultaneously on the HBO Max service for a period of one month, after which the film will be removed until the normal home media release schedule period.[46] In late March 2021, the film was delayed one week from April 16 to April 23.[43] [47]

The movie is scheduled for release in Japan on June 18, 2021, despite not having any Mortal Kombat games released officially in the country due to CERO rules of excessive gore.[48]

Marketing

On January 15, 2021, which was when the film was initially set to release prior to being delayed due the COVID-19 pandemic, Entertainment Weekly released a first look of the film, which contained several behind the scenes photos.[3] On February 17, 2021, a series of character posters were released for the film, along with the next announcement that the film's first trailer would be released the following day.[49] On February 18, 2021, the first red band trailer for the film was released online. The trailer received critical acclaim from both fans and critics alike, with particular praise for the gory action sequences and the inclusion of the game's iconic fatalities. A scene featuring Scorpion saying his iconic catchphrase "Get over here!" was also seen as a highlight from the trailer.[50][51] It was later revealed that the film's first trailer had become the most-watched red-band trailer in history, surpassing Logan and Deadpool 2.[52]

References

  1. ^ "Mortal Kombat (Reboot) - WGA Directory". findawriter.wgaeast.org. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "WarnerBros.com | Mortal Kombat (2021) | Movies". www.warnerbros.com. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "'Mortal Kombat' first look: Inside the R-rated reboot, fatalities and all". EW.com. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  4. ^ Romano, Nick (January 15, 2021). "Mortal Kombat first look: Inside the R-rated reboot, fatalities and all". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  5. ^ Russo, Greg [@WriterRusso] (July 9, 2019). "Bi Han" (Tweet). Retrieved December 17, 2019 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ a b Perry, Spencer (September 16, 2019). "Production Begins on New Mortal Kombat Movie". ComingSoon.Net. Archived from the original on January 30, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  7. ^ Fischer, Tyler (December 17, 2020). "Mortal Kombat Movie Confirms Kabal Actor". Comic Book. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Fischer, Tyler (November 11, 2019). "Mortal Kombat Reboot Reveals New Character and Casting". Comic Book. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  9. ^ "Young Matilda Kimber Added to the Cast of the Mortal Kombat Movie". Cog Connected. December 6, 2019. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  10. ^ "Mortal Kombat (2021)". Warner Bros. Pictures. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  11. ^ "Mortal Kombat (2021)". Warner Bros. Pictures. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  12. ^ "Mortal Kombat Annihilation!". GamePro. No. 104. IDG. May 1997. p. 37.
  13. ^ "Mortal Kombat". Threshold Entertainment. November 28, 2001. Archived from the original on November 28, 2001. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  14. ^ Morris, Clint (February 8, 2008). "Director talks Mortal Kombat reboot". Moviehole.net. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
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  23. ^ Tancharoen, Kevin [@KTANCH] (October 25, 2013). "After 3 years of Kombat, I've decided to move on to other creative opportunities. I wish everyone involved in the movie big success. Thanks!"" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2019 – via Twitter.
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  27. ^ Collis, Clark (May 14, 2019). "James Wan-produced Mortal Kombat movie to shoot later this year". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 18, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
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  29. ^ Russo, Greg [@WriterRusso] (July 12, 2019). "Since it's already been stated by other members of the team, I'm gonna put this one to bed. MK WILL be R-Rated and for the first time EVER, FATALITIES will FINALLY be on the big screen (and no I'm not gonna say which ones) You'll just have to wait for the movie & see!!! ;)" (Tweet). Retrieved August 18, 2019 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ McNary, Dave (July 9, 2019). "'The Raid's' Joe Taslim to Star in 'Mortal Kombat' for New Line". Variety. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
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  33. ^ Galuppo, Mia (August 26, 2019). "'Mortal Kombat' Movie Finds Its Sonya Blade, Kano (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  34. ^ Kroll, Justin (August 27, 2019). "'Mortal Kombat' Reboot Finds Its Shang Tsung and Scorpion (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
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  38. ^ a b "Mortal Kombat Elite on Instagram: "Looks like the mk movie is getting pushed back again. I cant say that I'm not surprised considering the current state of things. It should…"". Instagram. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  39. ^ Mendelovich, Yossy (April 6, 2021). "Mortal Kombat BTS Released: Shot on ALEXA LF Paired With Panavision Anamorphic Lenses". Y.M.Cinema - News & Insights on Digital Cinema. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  40. ^ Fischer, Tyler. "Mortal Kombat Reboot Award-Winning Composer Revealed". Comic Book. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  41. ^ "'Mortal Kombat's Composer Began the Score Before Getting Hired — And Yes, It Includes the Iconic Theme". Collider. March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  42. ^ Rizvi, Husain (April 8, 2021). "'Mortal Kombat' movie review: A fast-paced film with a thinning plot". Khaleej Times.
  43. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (March 30, 2021). "'Mortal Kombat' Release Date Pushed Back". Variety. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  44. ^ Haring, Bruce. "'Mortal Kombat' Release Date Moved Up To Midwinter 2021 – Update". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  45. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (December 14, 2020). "Warner Bros. Shifts 'Mortal Kombat,' 'Tom and Jerry' Release Dates". Variety. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  46. ^ Rubin, Rebecca; Donnelly, Matt (December 3, 2020). "Warner Bros. to Debut Entire 2021 Film Slate, Including 'Dune' and 'Matrix 4,' Both on HBO Max and In Theaters". Variety. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  47. ^ Jha, Lata (April 8, 2021). "Martial arts film 'Mortal Kombat' to release in India on 23 April". mint.
  48. ^ https://www.siliconera.com/mortal-kombat-movie-will-release-in-japan-this-june/
  49. ^ "New Mortal Kombat posters reveal first looks at Lord Raiden, Shang Tsung, and more". www.msn.com. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  50. ^ Countryman, Eli. "'Mortal Kombat' trailer promises plenty of blood, guts and fatalities". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
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  52. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 25, 2021). "'Mortal Kombat' Red Band Trailer Breaks Viewership Records". Deadline. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
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