Mortal Kombat was created by former Midway employees Ed Boon and John Tobias. In 1992, the fighting game became an instant hit, but not without some controversy. Thanks to the game, the ESRB rating system was created because of the over-the-top scenes with the game mechanic they made. Despite that, the games were still critically acclaimed with two sequels. The same year that gave us Mortal Kombat 3 was when there would be a movie based on the first game.
Simply titled Mortal Kombat, the movie came out in 1995 and for a video game adaptation, it was strangely one of the best movies based on a video game. Fans can enjoy the characters and their interactions while also laughing at the cheesiness it holds today. And then there is the 1997 sequel called Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. It honestly made the first movie look like a magnum opus, despite not being critically acclaimed.
With the announcement of a reboot for a Mortal Kombat movie, we noticed how interesting things were back in the day whether it is the casting, behind-the-scenes facts, and more. If it weren’t for the first movie, then a certain character’s ethnicity would have remained the same! And you were probably confused in the second movie when there were some obvious changes. Even though video game movies aren’t guaranteed to receive critical praise from typical movie critics, the Mortal Kombat movies, for the most part, are true to their source material.
Here are twenty facts about the two Mortal Kombat movies you probably missed!
20 Being Replaced
What makes Mortal Kombat: Annihilation an awful movie, let alone a terrible sequel, is the fact that three of the actors that appeared in the first movie did not reprise their roles. By the time their characters appeared on screen made us raised our eyebrows in confusion and wonder why they backed out of the project when the movie indicated that there is going to be a sequel.
We mentioned that Raiden’s Christopher Lambert wanted to return, but he was working on Beowulf. Linden Ashby wanted too as well, but knowing his character was going to be killed off immediately prevented him from taking part. Meanwhile, Sonya’s original actress Bridgette Wilson-Sampras took up the role for the movie I Know What You Did Last Summer.
19 Important In The Movie, Nonexistent In The Game
Even though Mortal Kombat features the characters that are playable in the first game, one character who plays an important part in the movie, but was not playable at all until the next game. That would be Kitana, the princess of Outworld and Shao Kahn’s adopted daughter. Even though she resides with the villains, Kitana herself is never truly evil.
It makes sense that she gained a bigger role in the second Mortal Kombat movie since she is playable in Mortal Kombat II, but it is a nice addition to add her, Reptile, and Shao Kahn in the first movie.
18 What Could Have Been
The actors that signed onto their roles in the movies were good at portraying their characters despite the over-the-top acting, but for Mortal Kombat, it’s no surprise that big Hollywood names were considered for the parts as well. Actors like Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp were considered for the role of Johnny Cage, but instead, we got Linden Ashby, who did a fantastic job as the movie star.
Cameron Diaz, who did not have a big name at the time, was also considered for Sonya, but she broke her wrist from training. That is where Bridgette Wilson-Sampras came in to take on the role of the Special Forces agent.
17 Taking Risks With The Music
The movies might not be groundbreaking blockbusters, but if they have one aspect that is excellent, it is the soundtrack. Both the first movie and the sequel managed to have one of the best soundtracks in the 90s. To this day, the Mortal Kombat theme song is still a banger that gets us dancing.
The music took a lot of risks beforehand.
There were ideas to include artists such as Janet Jackson in the soundtrack, but the idea was rejected. However, the soundtracks managed to become a huge success. According to the producer Larry Kasanoff, “We made the MK soundtrack and gave it to this little record company no one had ever heard of and we came out with the first EDM platinum soundtrack.”
16 Disliked By The Creator
There are at times where you have to applaud the original owners for commenting on adaptations of their creations. Fans will have different opinions on movies based on books, graphic novels, or video games, but it is usually the creators’ opinion that matter the most.
It’s no secret that Ed Boon enjoyed the first Mortal Kombat movie, but the sequel? He has no problem in saying that it is literally an annihilation. When asked about his memories for Mortal Kombat as a whole, Ed has stated that Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is his least favorite. We cannot blame him since the sequel is a huge mess compared to the first movie.
15 A Cameo That Never Happened
You know what would have made Mortal Kombat a complete movie? A cameo from the legendary Steven Spielberg. That’s right, this director had plans in appearing in the first movie as Johnny Cage’s director in the beginning of the film. As a gamer, he would have loved to appear for a short while.
Unfortunately, due to conflicting schedules, he could not participate.
However, despite not being in the film, the director that appeared in his place resembles him amazingly. It is more than likely an Easter egg of what could have been, but it was still awesome to know that Steven was on board to appear in the movie as a cameo.
14 Failure To Reprise
One of the best parts in the first Mortal Kombat movies is the portrayal of the Thunder God Raiden portrayed by Christopher Lambert. He gave an original performance to the character despite knowing that the lines he was given were sometimes ridiculous.
Unfortunately, he did not reprise his role in the sequel.
James Remar took up the role for Raiden in the sequel instead. It was unfortunate for Christopher because he wanted to come back as the awesome Thunder God we all love. However, he actually was working on the 1999 film Beowulf, which also shares the same producer who worked on the first Mortal Kombat movie, Lawrence Kasanoff.
13 Role Cut Down
One of the Mortal Kombat characters that do not get an amount of attention in the games would have to be Sheeva. She is a Shokan who first appeared in the third Mortal Kombat game and used to be in loyal service to Queen Sindel before she passed on. With Sindel being one of the villains in the Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, it would make sense for Sheeva to be involved more in the movie, right?
We would be somewhat correct. Sheeva was going to have a bigger role, but due to budget cuts, she was only shown in two scenes. To add salt to the wound, she got shafted immediately.
12 Changing Clothes
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation might have gotten a bigger budget, but even with that, the movie is one of the worst in the 90s with hokey acting, confusing storyline, and incredibly outdated special effects. Not only that, but there were a lot of errors consisting of continuity issues and whatnot.
Since the sequel takes place immediately after the ending of the first movie, Sonya, Raiden, and Liu Kang were wearing completely different clothes. Then there is Johnny who got his sunglasses broken thanks to Goro but magically got another pair in Outworld. Just what happened to the consistency compared to the first movie?
11 Staying With Another Franchise
You ever wonder why the first director of the Mortal Kombat movie did not return for the sequel? Paul W.S. Anderson was actually working on Event Horizon, which was a critical and financial failure in 1997, along with Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Because of the sequel’s failure on both ends, Paul had no interest in returning for more Mortal Kombat movies.
He basically moved on to another video game franchise.
Starting in 2002, he directed and produced the Resident Evil movies. His reason for focusing on this franchise was because, according to him, “It's one of the reasons why on a go-forward basis, when I became involved with Resident Evil, I felt if I'm going to do another one of these adaptations, this time I'm going to stay with it.”
10 Refusing To Return
Johnny Cage can be seen as annoying, but that is what makes him oddly charming. He decided to go to the Mortal Kombat tournament because he wanted to prove the media that he is no joke in his acting. Linden Ashby does a great job in portraying this Hollywood actor/fighter.
So, it was a shame how he didn’t reprise his role in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
To Linden’s credit, he wanted to be Johnny again. But with how his character is offed by the hands of Shao Kahn in the first ten minutes of the movie, we honestly can’t deny his reason not to come back. He made the right call since the movie is pretty bad.
9 How Cheap!
Mortal Kombat at the time can be a difficult game, especially with the AI bosses. Goro is one of the toughest bosses in the franchise’s history since his moves are overpowered and he has a height advantage. His appearance in the movie shows how strong he is, even if he met his downfall in the end.
It makes you wonder how video game design can be interpreted in a movie adaptation.
That said, Goro is just as strong in the movie as he is in the first game. The first time he appeared in the movie fighting against another competitor showcases how tough he is to beat. That poor man didn’t stand a chance against the Shokan Prince.
8 Going For A Different Rating
When you think of Mortal Kombat, you think of fighting, violence, and of course, fatalities. Now obviously we couldn’t have a PG-13 movie that goes around doing Sub-Zero’s infamous rip, but we will say that the original script for the movie was going to be more violent.
With more intense scenes, also come more foul language.
It must have been a difficult transition from a game where you can finish off your opponent to not doing that. The associate producer, Lauri Apelian, said, “We got in real close with the ratings board to find out how many curse words you could have, how much blood you can have. What we learned was if you [ended] a human onscreen, you got an R rating.”
7 A Missed Opportunity
Before Linden Ashby took up the role for the actor Johnny Cage, there were many actors that were considered for the role. Most notably, Brandon Lee. As the son of the legendary Bruce Lee, Brandon seemed like the perfect fit for Johnny with his experience in acting and martial arts.
Unfortunately, during the making of his movie The Crow, he tragically passed away in a stunt accident.
Who knows what could have been if this talented man were to play Johnny. Linden definitely did a fantastic job as the actor, but it would still be an interesting sight to see Brandon portraying the character too.
6 Getting A Meatier Role
Reptile is one of the most unique Mortal Kombat characters ever. He is of the fading Zaterrean race and he managed to remain popular throughout the years. If it weren’t for test audiences, then we would not have gotten this character in the first movie to have his time to shine.
Producer Larry Kasanoff took the audience’s responses and along with the film crew, shot more fight scenes. Reptile and Liu Kang’s fight was one of the best choreographed scenes in the movie. The music definitely helped in making the fight memorable too. It did come with a price for Liu Kang’s Robin Shou.
5 The Hard Part About Stunts
Action movies, for the most part, do require stunts to make the fight scenes realistic and intense. Mortal Kombat is about characters fighting in a tournament, so of course, we are expected to see a lot of them. The actors did a fantastic job making the fight scenes look epic despite its PG-13 rating, but not all of them got off free of injuries.
Johnny Cage’s Linden Ashby got his kidney hurt when shooting a scene with Scorpion’s Chris Casamassa. Even Liu Kang’s Robin Shou had to keep his injuries secret. According to an interview from The Hollywood Reporter, “If I told them I fractured the ribs, they're going to stop production and then there goes my Hollywood dream.”
4 Played By The Wrong Race
Casting is one of the most difficult processes in moviemaking. Which actor will play the part? If Mortal Kombat were to make a movie right about now, getting the ethnicity of the characters is extremely important. Liu Kang and Shang Tsung were cast respectfully by Robin Shou and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.
Yet, Raiden was played by Christopher Lambert, someone without any Asian heritage.
The fact that Raiden can take on the form of anything, him being portrayed by a French-American actor was not a problem. Ironically, both Sub-Zero and Scorpion were portrayed by non-Asian actors, but since they rarely speak or are shown what they look like, it was not that important.
3 Retconning A Character Completely
If there was a performance that managed to change a character completely, it is Kano done by the late Trevor Goddard. Originally, he was supposed to be a Japanese-born American who is being tracked down by Sonya who took the life of her crime partner.
Instead, this movie made him Australian.
Because of how fascinating Trevor’s performance is in the movie, Kano was retconned to where he is from Australia instead. What is more ironic is that Trevor was actually English, so not only did his performance as an Australian surprised us but impressed us further. He will definitely be remembered for his role as Kano.
2 The Hard Part Of Animation
Back then, special effects were something out of this world. Star Wars in the 70s were ahead of its time with the effects that appeared in the movie. As for Mortal Kombat, the best part of the movie other than the fight scenes are the special effects. The film crew knew what they were doing whenever it came to the special abilities Scorpion or Sub-Zero had.
Seeing it in a video game is one thing, but watching it come to life on the big screen is impressive. With Goro, he was a challenge to make. Animating him and making him look like he was in the same room as the characters was a huge accomplishment in the 90s.
1 A Strong Adaptation
We cannot stress enough about this fact, but the first Mortal Kombat movie is one of the best video game adaptations ever. When you compare it to other video game movies like Street Fighter or Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, this movie paid attention to the source material while including in some interesting additions.
The characters do represent as portrayed in the video games and the locations are exquisite and otherworldly. The sequel might have been awful, but there were still moments that have its spot-on adaptations, even if they are not displayed greatly. Hopefully, the movie reboot can outdo them both when it comes out.