'Mortal Kombat' First Look: Lewis Tan, Hiroyuki Sanada Dole Out Some R-Rated Fatalities
Mortal Kombat is getting ready to dole out some R-rated fatalities. Director Simon McQuoid's new adaptation of the classic video game series is not holding back on the "gore, blood, and fatalities," the filmmaker said, promising that the upcoming martial arts film is "definitely not gonna get a PG-13 rating." Get a glimpse of that blood and gore in the new Mortal Kombat first look images below.
Mortal Kombat First Look
Entertainment Weekly debuted the first-look images of Mortal Kombat, along with new details about the anticipated martial arts film. Produced by Todd Gardner and Aquaman's James Wan, Mortal Kombat introduces audiences to the world of the beloved video game (and all its very familiar characters) through the eyes of Cole Young, a brand new character to the Mortal Kombat world played by actor and martial artist Lewis Tan (Wu Assassins, Into the Badlands), per EW.
Cole knows nothing of his heritage aside from a mysterious birthmark on his chest, which is in the shape of the Mortal Kombat symbol, which "will eventually tie into the journey that he's going on," Tan told EW. It's the only clue that Cole has when he finds himself on the run from Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), who wields cryomancy powers, on orders from sinister sorcerer and emperor of the realm Outerworld, Shang Tsung (Skyscraper's Chin Han).
Cole meets Major Jackson "Jax" Briggs (Supergirl's Mehcad Brooks), a special forces major with the same mark as Cole, who urges him to seek out Sonya Blade (The Meg's Jessica McNamee). She guides him to the thunderous Elder God known as Lord Raiden (Thor's Tadanobu Asano), who grants sanctuary at his temple to all those who bear the mark. That's where Cole encounters all the familiar characters from the long-running Mortal Kombat games: Liu Kang (Power Rangers' Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (actor and stuntman Max Huang), and Kano (Superstore's Josh Lawson), who are all there to train for a high-stakes tournament to defeat invaders from Outerworld. Amid all this, there's a blood feud between the clans of Hanzo (Hiroyuki Sanada) and Bi-Ha/Sub-Zero.
McQuoid is still editing the film, but he assures EW that the film will be rated R, though he "didn't want to get into NC-17 territory." He added, "It's amazing how quickly you can get there. It doesn't take much."
Mortal Kombat is scheduled to premiere simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max on April 16, 2021.