'Mortal Kombat' Reboot Finds Its Liu Kang, Jax, Raiden, And Mileena [Updated]

Update: THR now reports that in addition to Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, the new Mortal Kombat film has cast Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl), Tadanobu Asano (Thor: Ragnarok) and Australian newcomer Sisi Stringer as Jax, Raiden, and Mileena, respectively. Our original report follows.

From one video game martial arts-fighting character to another, it looks like Ludi Lin won't have to change up his outfits anytime soon. The Power Rangers star, who recently appeared in the Black Mirror episode "Striking Vipers," is in talks to join the Mortal Kombat cast in the role of Liu Kang. The New Line Cinema adaptation of the popular video game franchise is already assembling quite a cast, including The Raid star Joe Taslim.

Variety broke the news that Ludi Lin is in talks to join the cast of Mortal Kombat as Liu Kang, the protagonist of Midway's first Mortal Kombat game that was originally released in 1992. Liu Kang, who not-so-subtly resembled Bruce Lee, was one of the seven original characters introduced in the first game, which consisted of one-on-one matches in a tournament held on the fictional Shang Tsung's island in a world called Earthrealm. The game's plot followed Liu Kang, a Shaolin monk who specialized in flying kicks, as he tries to save the Earth by fighting for supremacy in a Bloodsport-style tournament.

The plot of the new film reboot is unknown for now, but it's likely it'll follow the basic premise of that first game, with Lin acting as the protagonist of the film. It's a big break for the Chinese-Canadian actor, who is fresh off playing a similar kung-fu video game character in the season 5 Black Mirror episode "Striking Vipers," which takes more than a few cues from Mortal Kombat. Lin is best known for his role in 2017's Power Rangers, but this new Mortal Kombat film could be his first leading role.

Produced by James Wan and helmed by former commercial director Simon McQuoid, the new Mortal Kombat follows in the footsteps of poorly-received movies released in 1995 and 1997. But New Line seems to be investing in making this new Mortal Kombat reboot good, with Joe Taslim of the cult Indonesian action flick The Raid cast in the film as Sub-Zero, and screenwriter Greg Russo promising a "hard R" rating.

Mortal Kombat is currently in pre-production and will begin shooting in Adelaide, Australia later this year. It's set to hit theaters in March 2021.