Recently released in its tenth incarnation the Mortal Kombat franchise of video games has enjoyed the highs and labored through the lows of any long running franchise. Released in 1992 the original video game developed by Midway and created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, Mortal Kombat became infamous as one of the videogames responsible in the early nineties for age restrictions being attached to the previously uncensored entertainment medium. After the release of two successful video game sequels, the franchise was adapted for the big screen in 1995 by Paul W. S. Anderson, one of the directors better movies that has since amassed a cult following. Unfortunately the 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation reflected both the waning popularity of the video game franchise and the gradual disintegration of the team behind the franchise, which culminated with developer Midway filing for bankruptcy in 2009.
The 1995 movie adaptation was much better than the big screen adaptation of Street Fighter!
The video games latest two instalments have been developed by Netherrealm Studios, ran by series co-creator Ed Boon, and have seen a surge in popularity for the property, with both games attracting Hollywood icons Freddy Krueger, Jason Vorhess and the Predator as hidden characters within the games. Such is the renewed popularity of the franchise that Hollywood studios New Line Cinema and Broken Road have signed Fast and Furious 7 director James Wan to produce a rebooted movie based upon the recently rejuvenated video game legend.
Scorpion and Sub-Zero wage their endles war in the the latest video game instalment!
The forthcoming movie reboot will be written by Oren Uziel, former writer of web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy, and Dave Callaham, writer of The Expendables and last years monster hit Godzilla. Studios New Line Cinema and Broken Road have described the movies as... “a departure from the mythology,” with “darker, brutally real martial arts.”
Directed by Simon McQuoid, based on a screenplay by Jeremy Slater, Mortal Kombat II stars newcomer Karl Urban as Johnny Cage! Cast also includes Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, with returning stars Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion.
Mortal Kombat 2's official release date is set for May 15th, 2026!
