By | Published January 26, 2010

Horror web site Bloody Disgusting has scared up a fresh rumor that Warner Bros. is looking to reboot the MORTAL KOMBAT franchise with Oren Uziel in talks to pen a script.

MORTAL KOMBAT was originally a popular and gory fighting video game produced by Midway that Paul Anderson later turned into a live-action film starring Robin Shou as Liu Kang. It is arguably the most successful video game-to-movie adaptation to date despite its failure to fully capitalize on the original game’s signature fatalities.

A new MORTAL KOMBAT film has actually been in development for ages with Threshold Entertainment attached. What is not clear is if Warner, which owns the rights to the Mortal Kombat franchise, is building on existing development or starting over from scratch. It’s also possible this rumor will come to nothing at all, although given Hollywood’s obsession with resurrecting familiar franchises I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before this one gets made.

Whoever decides to take on this film is in for a big challenge. There is yet no example of how to produce a great fighting video game movie and successive attempts in more recent years had only led to greater failure. Even now, fan expectations are low for upcoming fighting films TEKKEN and KING OF FIGHTERS, especially after last year’s disappointment with STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI which Rotten Tomatoes ranks as the lowest rated movie of 2009.

I’m in agreement with Bloody Disgusting that an “R” version with violent fatalities is needed. That’s what the game is known for. Let’s have 90 minutes of forced spinal extractions, incinerations and limb removals and skip the vanilla melodrama and cheap wire-fu.

I also think the producers should get cameos by Ho Sung-pak, the guy who played the video game version of Liu Kang, and Cynthia Rothrock who provided partial inspiration for the fighting character Sonya Blade. I would recommend Jean-Claude Van Damme for his role in inspiring the creation of Johnny Cage but after refusing Sylvester Stallone’s offer to appear in THE EXPENDABLES, I guess he doesn’t do cameos.

Source: Bloody Disgusting

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  • jinkazama

    Its amazing no one knows how to translate these films. Imagine going to the cinema and seeing the below as a Mortal Kombat intro but with charcters and proper effects, its perfect

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx_6UJPkNHg

    but the problem is no one has the budget, hence we have the fuk ups like tekken and mortal kombat.

  • http://www.kungfucinema.com Mark Pollard

    I've always felt that live-action was the wrong medium for fighting video game adaptations. Animation would free up filmmakers to no longer be bound by reality or disbelief. With KUNG FU PANDA we know it's possible to animate entertaining martial arts sequences.

  • jinkazama

    Kung Fu Panda lol, have you tried Streetfighter II the animated movie, easily the best animated martial arts film, I mean holy shit, if that had been the actual film then it would be a classic.

  • http://www.chiropracticmarketingsecret.com/ DrKeithCurrie

    Game!!! Movie game is most enjoy able and best way to kill time. I like most to play it.

  • Alexsource

    The Double Dragon movie came out in 1994 and so did the Van Damme SF one, so I'm not sure The MK movie (1995) is the first “produced” one.
    R rating and Gory fatalities all the way!! Perhaps they can get Daniel Bernhardt, the guy from the bloodsport sequels, to play Jhonny Cage :P

  • http://www.youtube.com/shawnbernal ShawnObi

    Donnie Yen for Liu Kang please!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Daniel-Zelter/1352966720 Daniel Zelter

    Mark: They already did a CG DTV MK 'toon. It sucked.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Daniel-Zelter/1352966720 Daniel Zelter

    BTW, when are you gonna cover Mad Max IV?

  • tikkiexx

    as long as its rated R it has a chance. i guess youre right people expect nothing from fighting game movies and they still manage to mess them up. anybody remember the live action Mortal Kombat television show? it was actually pretty decent. the fight sscenes were great plus it had TONS of T and A. lol

  • Art

    To make this film work, you need an “R” rating, REAL fatalities, true-to-game video game origins for the characters and “big-time” martial arts/action stars like Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, JCVD, Jason Statham, Cyril Raffaelli, Nathan Jones and especially newer, younger stars like: Wu Jing, Yanin “Jeeja” Vismistananda, Tak Sakaguchi and Tony Jaa.

  • http://goldenpigsy.blogspot.com GoldenPigsy

    Mortal Kombat wasn't anywhere near the first video game movie produced.

    They've been trying to get a new Mortal Kombat film out for years, ever since MK: Deadly Alliance actually made the franchise popular again. Doing it now is really bad timing.

  • http://www.kungfucinema.com Mark Pollard

    I stand corrected. DOUBLE DRAGON and STREET FIGHTER were both released the previous year. There was also SUPER MARIO BROS. in '93.

  • tikkiexx

    'I stand corrected. DOUBLE DRAGON and STREET FIGHTER were both released the previous year. There was also SUPER MARIO BROS. in '93.' its no wonder you forgot Mark, those are three of the worst movies of all time. lol. man id forgotten all those movies released so close together. i remember thinking theyd never make another video game movie again after those three turds. no wonder Mortal Kombat had so much impact, it wasnt pure crap. lol. and it had some good fight scenes

  • http://www.facebook.com/stashdragon Brook Allen

    The fatalities were a gimmick. Sure they were cool but they did not actually exist in the story line because the characters never died. They were back in squeal after sequel. I do believe the film needs an R rating. The last thing we need is something like Annihilation. (gag) Hollywood may put one or two fatalities in but if they did they would most likely be done by a bad guy and on a nobody.

  • Andre J

    I think that a reboot is needed.They should cast rain as Liu Kang, Donnie Yen as Kung Lao, Michael Jai White as Jax, Scott Adkins as Sub-Zero or Scorpion, and George St. Pierre as Johnny Cage