Why The First Mortal Kombat Movie Replaced Cameron Diaz As Sonya Blade

Cameron Diaz was only 21 years old when she auditioned to play the role of Tina in Chuck Russell's 1994 ultra-hit "The Mask." Prior to that, she was a professional model, having appeared in ads for Levi Jeans and Calvin Klein. When Diaz came on board, the script for "The Mask" was rewritten to accommodate her chemistry with the film's star, Jim Carrey. Thanks to "The Mask," Diaz was instantly world-famous, becoming Hollywood's new "It" girl practically overnight. The young actress likely had her pick of film projects. 

It's curious that Diaz's next movie was the intense, low-budget ensemble drama "The Last Supper," a movie about liberal twentysomethings who, rather than merely being pedantic about their beliefs, decide to invite extreme right-wing fascists to their home for dinner and murder. It was a very strange follow-up to the crowd-pleasing "The Mask." Indeed, Diaz's career choices seemed to be based more on acting challenges than mainstream blockbuster appeal. In the years after "The Mask," she appeared in quirky comedies and/or downbeat dramas like "She's the One," "Feeling Minnesota," and "Keys to Tulsa." 

It turns out, though, that Diaz's shift to indie dramas might have been the result of a broken wrist. Back when "The Mask" was still being made over at New Line Cinema, another New Line film, "Mortal Kombat," was undergoing its casting process. According to an oral history at Yahoo! News, "Kombat" producer Lauri Apelian was pointed toward Diaz by some of the New Line brass, and she was convinced right away, sensing that Diaz was a natural star. The makers of "Mortal Kombat" cast Diaz in the role of Sonya Blade, a Special Forces agent, and immediately threw her into training. But when she broke her wrist during that cast, Diaz was recast with Bridgette Wilson. 

Lauri Apelian's exact story went like this: 

"We were at New Line when 'The Mask' was in postproduction, and Cameron Diaz was not a household name. No one knew her. New Line said, 'Why don't you look some of the dailies that are coming in from this film and see what you think of this young, unknown actress?' As soon as we saw the dailies from 'The Mask,' there was no question that she was a star. We put her into training, because she had not really done this kind of martial arts work before. She broke her wrist right before shooting, to the point where she couldn't do the martial arts stunts we needed. We were very happy with Bridgette. It was great she was available." 

"Mortal Kombat" is a movie about humans and supernatural beings fighting, tournament style, for dominion over various dimensions. It's nonsense, and you should read /Film writer Nina Starner's impression of "Mortal Kombat" after seeing it for the first time. 

Diaz, sadly, would have to be skilled in fighting for such a film; it wasn't an option to merely hand the fights over to a stunt performer. Bridgette Wilson, however, was perfectly fine in the role, bringing a certain kind of angry verve to Sonya Blade. "Mortal Kombat" was a major box office hit, making over $122 million on its $20 million budget. We can only speculate if Diaz's presence in the role of Sonya would have helped the movie any more. 

Wilson, meanwhile, got a great opportunity because Diaz dropped out. She was actually on the casting docket for a long time, she recalled in the oral history, and was afraid that her appearance in the Adam Sandler comedy "Billy Madison" might have cut into the "Kombat" shooting schedule. Luckily for Wilson, everything timed out perfectly.