Even after all these years, the fighting game series, Mortal Kombat, remains one of the most well-recognized video game franchises in the business. Mortal Kombat has been adapted for the big screen a few times, with mixed results, but now actor Lewis Tan, who is set to star in the new Mortal Kombat movie set for release this year, is here to talk up this most recent adaptation, highlighting one important element in particular: fatalities.
“Let me just say this, there were some days on set that I felt sick. I’m not kidding. They did not… They did not hold back.”
Fatalities have always played an important role in the Mortal Kombat series of games (Finish Him!). Right from the beginning, the sheer violence of fatalities separated the Mortal Kombat games from similar franchises of the same ilk, with each finishing move showcasing violent and gruesome acts that usually result in all manner of decapitations, explosions, gruesome injuries, and, often, all of the above. Whilst the results in the upcoming movie adaptation may have led to Tan feeling rather queasy, it is promising to hear that they are not holding back when it comes to the live action depiction of this element of the video games.
Based on the ridiculously over-the-top violence of fatality moves in Mortal Kombat you would think that they would require a lot of special effects work to complete, but according to producer Todd Garner, they are relying on practical effects, with the movie not needing much CGI at all. “I can say for sure that the fatalities that we’re gonna put into the film are from the game,” Russo said previously. “We’re not going to come up with some new things that we haven’t seen before, but at the same time, if we’re going to do it to use that device, we want to make sure that it’s not just in there just to be in there and have that point to the story,” he explained. “So everything will always have that point to what’s happening in the story, that it will feel awesome and badass, but it’s going to play a role, you know, it’s not just going to be there just to be showy.”
Russo added, “In terms of the content, yeah. I mean we’re … I think there’s always a thin line, you know, you don’t want to be over the top, right? With your violence and I don’t know that that’s really going to put people off. I’m not sure that’s even necessary. So you want to be truthful, but you also don’t want to be so ridiculous and gratuitous that you may turn people off in the wrong way. So I would just say that it’s going to be faithful to the games and it’s going to earn it’s R-rating.”
Mortal Kombat is 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. The movie will feature a host of classic characters including Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, and Mehcad Brooks as Jackson “Jax” Briggs. Mortal Kombat is currently still on schedule, and is set to premiere in theaters on January 15, 2021. This comes to us courtesy of Comicbook.com.
