How does one hype up the next Mortal Kombat film? By casting Joe Taslim, the ass-kicking dynamo from The Raid, to play the part of Sub-Zero. The actor and martial artist is recognized for a number of well-known action films, and his inclusion is nothing but goods news for the project.
For the unfamiliar, Taslim played Sergeant Jaka in The Raid and showed off his abilities right up until he met his match, unable to take down one of the films most lethal antagonists, Mad Dog. Fair warning to viewers, our good friend Taslim suffers a beating, and then a nasty end.
The rest of the film is shaping up with more information becoming available, particularly with all of the behind the scenes work. James Wan is set to produce and has previously produced other films like Saw and Aquaman. Director Simon McQuaid seems to be a newcomer to the world of film direction, but has experience with such commercials, such as the memorable “Long Live Play” ad for the PlayStation 3.
Script-wise, Greg Russo has been tapped to write for the upcoming film. As the film was originally announced in August of 2015, but then stalled in development, the story seems to have been set in stone a while back. Currently, we know that a new character will be taking on the role of lead protagonist, named Cole Turner.
Turner is described as a male in his 30s, as a struggling and widowed boxer who cares about family, and in particular, his young daughter. He is determined and motivated to succeed and sounds like he will make a great addition to the story. It seems then that Liu Kang is no longer taking the spotlight as the principle defender of Earthrealm.
This also leaves little reason to believe that any part of the story from the original film in 1995 would be followed. At best, we can expect easter eggs from that film, and hopefully, not a single word of reference to its sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
We know as well that Sonya Blade is being reworked in a peculiar way. It seems that in the upcoming film, she will be taking on the role of a brainy blonde writer who chases the prophecy of Mortal Kombat, rather than a elite member of the military.
Kabal's character is also seeing an overhaul to the story we know from the games. Whereas his origin story was that of a chosen warrior who survived the worst of Shao Khan's death squads in Mortal Kombat 3, and was then revealed to be a bit of a villain in the Earth-based Black Dragon organization, now in the film he will play the role of an evil assassin from Outworld.
As for developing Sub-Zero himself, there is so much content that could be explored, ranging from the long-standing feud with Scorpion, to dealing with the original character's death, who then was transformed into the current iteration of Noob Saibot. Whatever the case may be, it is outstanding to see Joe Taslim brought on board!