After 22 years, we finally have another ‘Mortal Kombat’ movie coming, and now two more actors have joined the cast. Chin Han will play Shang Tsung, the ageless Outworld general that oversees the tournament and its fighters, and Hiroyuki Sanada will portray Scorpion, an undead ninja warrior seeking revenge for the person who killed him.
Han was recently in Rawson Marshall Thurber’s ‘Skyscraper.’ He was also in several different comic book projects, such as Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ The CW’s ‘The Flash,’ and Anthony & Joe Russo’s ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier.’ Other credits include Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Contagion,’ Roland Emmerich’s ‘Independence Day: Resurgence,’ and the Netflix series ‘Marco Polo.’
Sanada was recently in the second season of HBO’s ‘Westworld’ and Marvel Studios’ ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ His resume also comprises of Edward Zwick’s ‘The Last Samurai,’ Danny Boyle’s ‘Sunshine,’ and James Mangold’s ‘The Wolverine.’ Next, he will appear in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Netflix film ‘Army of the Dead.’
Here are the remaining actors and their roles:
- Tadanobu Asano (‘Silence,’ ‘Thor: Ragnarok’)
- Lord Raiden, the Thunder God leader of the humankind’s contestants in Mortal Kombat. He oversees their training for the tournament.
- Mehcad Brooks (‘Supergirl,’ ‘Nobody’s Fool’)
- Jackson “Jax” Bridges, the Special Forces muscleman with “arms like cannons.” He recruits Cole to the Mortal Kombat tournament.
- Josh Lawson (‘House of Lies,’ ‘Superstore’)
- Kano, the large, rugged Australian ex-special forces turned merc-for-hire. He is wanted by Interpol for arms dealing and drug running. He’s killed a lot of people yet still has a goofy attitude.
- Ludi Lin (‘Aquaman,’ ‘Black Mirror: Striking Vipers’)
- Liu Kang, a Shaolin warrior from the White Lotus society that has the ability to throw fireballs.
- Jessica McNamee (‘The Meg,’ ‘Into the Dark’)
- Sonya Blade, the tough blonde dressed in military gear and ready to become a stronger champion.
- Newcomer Sisi Stringer
- Mileena, the female Outworld assassin dressed in leather armor and wielding deadly sais.
- Lewis Tan (‘Into the Badlands,’ ‘Wu Assassins’)
- An undisclosed lead role. However, it is likely Cole Turner, a washed up boxer that still puts up a good fight. He loves his daughter Emily and will do anything to protect her. He is recruited to fight in Mortal Kombat and turns out to have a mysterious upbringing.
- Joe Taslim (‘The Raid: Redemption,’ ‘Warrior’)
- Sub-Zero, the ice ninja with deadly eyes hidden behind a gruesome mask.
Moreover, the premise of this new R-rated outing is below:
“The reboot will center around a washed-up boxer (Cole Turner) that is recruited to help protect Earth (and his daughter). He must join forces with a team of fighters that are locked in an eternal battle with killers from another dimension.”
Also, some characters that have yet to be cast:
- Emily: Cole’s 12-year-old daughter who is already a skilled boxing trainer. She proves to be tougher than she looks.
- Kung Lao: A stoic warrior monk who throws his hat like a deadly frisbee.
Surprisingly absent are Johnny Cage, Kitana, and even Goro. However, there is still a good chance they show up nonetheless. The characters Jarek and Reptile will reportedly appear as well.
Screenwriter Greg Russo (‘Death Note 2,’ ‘Saints Row’) recently had this to say about the characters:
“Can you tease what character you’ve chosen as the entry point for audiences into this universe?” – Interviewer
“That’s a tricky one. I’m not at liberty to completely give it away but I can say certainly that the original seven are important. I think they’re important to any adaptation to this property.” – Greg Russo
The original seven comprise of Johnny Cage, Kano, Liu Kang, Raiden, Scorpion, Sonya Blade, and Sub-Zero.
Producer James Wan (also Australian) brought on popular commercial director Simon Mcquoid to direct the reboot. The (surprise) Australian filmmaker was one of the most in-demand commercials directors in the business, working on high-profile campaigns for ‘Halo,’ PlayStation, Range Rover, Beats by Dre, and other top brands.
Meanwhile, cinematographer Germain McMicking (‘Top of the Lake,’ ‘True Detective’), costume designer Cappi Ireland (‘Lion,’ ‘Glitch’), and supervising art director Tom Nursey (‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,’ ‘Pacific Rim Uprising’) are onboard.
Further, pre-production is currently underway, while filming will start later this year in Adelaide, Australia.
Warner Bros. will release ‘Mortal Kombat’ on March 5, 2021.
Source: Variety