It’s official: there’s now less than a month to go until New Line Cinema’s adaptation of gaming’s bloodiest fighting franchise returns to the big screen.
Similar to Paul W.S. Anderson’s fondly-remembered take on NetherRealm’s series back in 1995, director Simon McQuoid’s upcoming modernization serves as a retelling of the first Mortal Kombat depicted in 1992’s arcade title of the same name, meaning almost every fan favourite character is guaranteed to be making an appearance. Where this year’s version will differ from its predecessor, however, is how the story will be told. Scorpion and Sub-Zero, both equal in their status as mascots of the IP, are said to be central to the overarching plot this time around, with the latter – played by Joe Taslim – being presented as a major villain alongside Shang Tsung.
It’s presumed, based on everything revealed so far, that Sub-Zero (real name Bi-Han) will be responsible for the massacre of Hasahi Hanzo’s family and clan, with the cryomancer himself being the leader’s murderer. These are the events being retold in a new clip, too, which you can check out for yourself up above.
Assuming the core narrative remains largely intact, Hanzo will be reborn as Scorpion at the hands of Quan Chi (not confirmed to appear) and seek revenge on Bi-Han for the slaughter of his people. As fans of the games will no doubt know, this clash of titans will ultimately result in the latter’s death and own reincarnation as the maleficent Noob Saibot, leaving his younger brother, Kuai Lang, to take up the mantle of Sub-Zero as a force for good.
Again, this is all predicated on the assumption that McQuoid and the remaining film crew decide to go in that direction, though considering previous comments from producers James Wan and Todd Garner, it would seem that everyone involved is aiming to stay as true to the source material as possible.
Mortal Kombat will be available in theaters and on HBO Max starting April 16th.
