It was nearly 5 months ago that we reported on an approaching MORTAL KOMBAT remake, now finally Warner Bros. have confirmed it. About two years ago a 7 minute trailer found its way onto the web and pretty much blew up in a ‘Fatality’ kind of way. It showed a much darker and grittier tone than the previous films, and also tried to base it in reality. However, it soon transpired that this was merely a project to help pitch the idea of a new movie to Warner Bros. One of the stars, Michael Jai White, believed the short film was simply an advert for a new MORTAL KOMBAT game.
Luckily for fans the internet reaction was so strong that Warner Bros. decided to give the go ahead on a web series called MORTAL KOMBAT: LEGACY. The show produced nine episodes, each around ten minutes in length. These episodes fleshed out the back stories of certain characters and also reintroduced some of the mystical/fantasy elements of the game.
The series has proved to be so popular that Warner Bros. have finally said yes to a new film. The film will be helmed by the director of the short and web series Kevin Tancharoen. It’s obvious his passion has really impressed Warner Bros. as he has taken this property and worked so hard to bring this film to life.
Warner Bros. executive Lance Sloan officially announced the remake and the budget:
We’re preparing right now for the [MORTAL KOMBAT] film with Kevin Tancharoen, [who] directed the digital series for us. He’s at the helm of the forty, fifty million dollar film.
The film is rumoured to follow a supermarket attendant who discovers they have magical fighting powers. They must then decide whether to fight for good or evil, even though it was the evil beggars that helped him realise his true potential. CONFLICT!
Personally I’m not feeling overly positive yet. I just find that movies based on fighting games are terrible. The biggest problem is that they come from games with inconsequential plots. You just have to beat people senseless. STREET FIGHTER (1994), MORTAL KOMBAT (1995), and TEKKEN (2010) were all painful to watch. My favourite so far has been DOA: DEAD OR ALIVE (2006) as that at least tried to have some fun. But I’m always one that’s willing to be surprised and I must admit that the 7 minute short did get me a bit excited back in 2010. Let’s see if this will come together nicely.
The as yet untitled MORTAL KOMBAT reboot will be directed by Kevin Tancharoen from a script by Oren Uziel with no word on a release date at this time.
Source: Worst Previews
