'Mortal Kombat' Featurette Highlights The International Cast

Are you ready for Mortal Kombat? The latest cinematic take on the ultra-violent video game franchise is headed to theaters and HBO Max this month, and ahead of that release, there's a new featurette. This behind-the-scenes video highlights the film's international cast – or kast, as the video text calls them, because all C's are K's in the world of Mortal Kombat. So watkh the video below! Wait, that doesn't work at all.

Mortal Kombat Featurette

The Mortal Kombat game series doesn't exactly have the most nuanced character development, but there's a certain respectability that fans demand when someone attempts to bring these games to life. The latest Mortal Kombat adaptation comes from director Simon McQuoid, and boasts a big international cast that includes Lewis Tan (Deadpool 2, Wu Assassins) as Cole Young; Jessica McNamee (The Meg) as Sonya Blade; Josh Lawson (Bombshell) as Kano; Tadanobu Asano (Midway) as Lord Raiden; Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl) as Jackson "Jax" Bridges; Ludi Lin (Aquaman) as Liu Kang; with Chin Han (Skyscraper) as Shang Tsung; Joe Taslim (Star Trek Beyond) as Bi-Han/Sub-Zero; and Hiroyuki Sanada (Skyscraper) as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion, with Max Huang as Kung Lao; Sisi Stringer as Mileena; Matilda Kimber as Emily Young; and Laura Brent as Allison Young.

In the featurette above, the cast is on hand to talk about the challenges of playing a video game character – the challenge being playing someone that's larger-than-life who is also somehow believable and realistic. That's easier said than done with a property like Mortal Kombat, which is full of all sorts of fantastical, improbable things. As McQuoid adds, all of the film's detail "gives the audience a sense of realism and connectivity to this world."

In Mortal Kombat, "MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage—or why Outworld's Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family's safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao and rogue mercenary Kano, as he prepares to stand with Earth's greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana—the immense power from within his soul—in time to save not only his family, but to stop Outworld once and for all?"

Mortal Kombat hits theaters and HBO Max on April 23, 2021.