'Mortal Kombat' Finds Its Sonya Blade, Kano, Scorpion, And Shang Tsung; Adds Lewis Tan In Undisclosed Role

Update: Variety reports that Chin Han (who played corrupt businessman Mr. Lau in The Dark Knight) has been cast as the evil Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat, while Hiroyuki Sanada will play Scorpion. Sanada played the gangster who was killed by Jeremy Renner's Ronin in Avengers: Endgame, and has credits on shows like Westworld and Lost. Our original article from earlier today continues below.

The Mortal Kombat reboot has found its Sonya Blade and Kano. The Meg actress Jessica McNamee is in final talks to play Sonya Blade, while Australian actor Josh Lawson has closed the deal to play heavy-hitter Kano. Joining them in the Mortal Kombat cast is Wu Assassins and Deadpool 2 actor Lewis Tan in an undisclosed role.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that two of Mortal Kombat's heaviest hitters have been cast. McNamee is in final negotiations to play Sonya Blade, an Earthrealm's Special Forces unit soldier and the first female character introduced to the games, while Lawson has closed a deal to play Kano, a fugitive mercenary and frequent nemesis of Sonya and Jax Briggs. Lewis Tan is in final negotiations to play an undisclosed lead character.

McNamee, Lawson, and Tan are just the latest to join the jam-packed cast of the Mortal Kombat reboot after Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl), Tadanobu Asano (Thor: Ragnarok), Australian newcomer Sisi Stringer, and Ludi Lin (Black Mirror) joined last week.

The plot of the new film reboot is unknown for now, but it's likely it'll follow the basic premise of the first game, which was set in a world where one-on-one death matches in a tournament held on the evil Shang Tsung's island determined the fate of the world.

Produced by James Wan and helmed by former commercial director Simon McQuoid, the new Mortal Kombat follows in the footsteps of the first Mortal Kombat adaptations released in 1995 and 1997 (the first slightly better received than the abysmal sequel). 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.