July 8, 2009 | by Rob Keyes 

Are They Making Mortal Kombat 3?

Chris Casamassa is Scorpion in Mortal Kombat 3

Ever heard of Chris Casamassa? Probably not, but you may have seen him. He’s the martial arts master who played the role of Scorpion in the first Mortal Kombat movie and in a few episodes of Mortal Kombat: Conquest, the TV series.

Fortunately, he wasn’t part of the terrible sequel, titled Annihilation. Come to think of it, the vast majority of the cast didn’t make it back for the sequel…

Well, Casamassa will be back as Scorpion again… in another Mortal Kombat movie. Who knew?

Alex over at First Showing picked up on a story by the SGV Tribune where they interviewed the martial artist/actor. Casamassa, who now instructs and is the president of Red Dragon Karate, revealed that he’s set to start shooting a third Mortal Kombat film this September. It was seemingly a general comment and they didn’t go into it at all as it wasn’t the focus of the piece.

If true, that’s only two months away and we’ve heard nothing about it. Is it some low-budget straight-to-DVD flick? Perhaps that’s the only way to go after the terrible outing of the latest Street Fighter movie.

Casamassa’s film experience is not limited to Mortal Kombat however. Between doing his professional Karate, he was George Clooney’s stunt double in everyone’s favorite Batman & Robin and he did some stunts for Blade among other minor appearances and film work. He was even in that show called WMAC Masters which I actually think I saw on TV when I was kid.

I’m glad the dude is getting some more film work but I don’t have any interest in another Mortal Kombat if it’s another low-budget sequel. The first movie was pretty cool and I liked it when I was younger for what it was (can you believe that was 14 years ago?). The second one I didn’t feel nearly as happy about and I can only imagine this one being even worse.

The idea of a of a third Mortal Kombat has been long-speculated where it was rumored Christopher Lambert could return as Rayden but there’s been absolutely nothing on that front for a long while. Him being in it would be a big plus though, and it would certainly help turn some frowns upside down.

If they do make another MK film, which is inevitable, they should start over again and focus in on the main characters. Most importantly, they need to have some truly awesome action sequences. The main problem with Street Fighter (among thousands) is that it’s a move strictly about fighting… with no cool fighting – So there’s no reason to see it.

Do you have any interest in a third Mortal Kombat? How about a franchise re-boot?

Mortal Kombat Movie Trivia: Did you know Ray Park (Darth Maul from Star Wars, Ep.I, Snake Eyes in this summer’s G.I. Joe) did the stunts for Rayden and played one of the Raptors and Baraka in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation?

Source: SGV Tribune, Image edited from MK vs DCU

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Tags: mortal kombat, street fighter,

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  • ogb
    Universal Soldier 3 is indeed filming

    http://mmablips.dailyradar.com/story/pictures_a...
  • Cantizzle
    speaking of JCVD, I heard some rumors on Universal Soldier 3. Anyone know if thats true?
  • Guys, when they created MK the game, they used Jean-Claude Van Damme's character as JC...now, it's time for his stunt-double, actor Todd Senofonte to take on that! Check this cool video...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2H_9VYUCzQ
  • Ken J
    Good idea maybe, the visuals of the game are kind of hard to do live action without looking cheesey, but the first one handled the cheesiness quite well.
  • Panda
    What about a higher-budget CGI Mortal Kombat flick (TMNT, Final Fantasy quality)? I'd prefer that to another live action
  • DSF
    After seeing the horrible sequal in '97, I am not thrilled to see a MK3.The franchise has a hand trying to reach out for help and I say let it go. MK2 had horrible cast additions and horrible animation. It seemed the movie was made in two days. If this frachise has a chance then it would have to rebooted and started a fresh with a new cast for a new generation. I am a fan of Mortal Kombat. But lets start over folks.
  • ogb
    @ tasouli

    Lose the tone. I gave you a perfectly logical reason why it can be successful.

    Save your wannabe "witty" remarks for someone else.
  • tasouli
    @ ogb

    Yeah I am sure you probably can see the third batman movie also being a success with the lead villain being cast as Mr. Freeze and having the Rock play him
  • SIN187UM
    Holy Mc Nuggets batman ALL ABOARD THE FAIL BOAT EXPRESS TOOT TOOT!!!!!
  • Kofi, I mention that show in the article...
  • cantizzle
    i saw the first one twice in the theaters when i was like 14. the soundtrack was bad ass and i still workout to some of those songs. second one was pretty ridiculous, though i did like the Jax character until his robotic arms fell off because they were supposed to be surgically added to his body. all the other character's sucked.
    i was definitely into the Reptile fight scene, i think the voice saying "Reptile" was a good add in to pay homage to the game.
  • Phil G
    I'm a Mortal Kombat fanboy. That being said, the second movie was atrocious. For that reason alone I think it should be a reboot of the franchise.

    But I certainly wouldn't mind seeing cast members from the original MK come back - Casamassa made an excellent Scorpion, as well. That first movie gave me chills when Scorpion and Sub-Zero first stepped through the door (though it mildly annoyed me that they WEREN'T at each other's throats, lol.)


    Just as an aside, DC/Warner Bros. JUST BOUGHT Midway - that includes the Mortal Kombat franchise. That might have an impact on this film.
  • ogb
    True. Linden Ashby had to get stunt doubled for the fight, but they pulled it off where you can't really notice it unless you're looking really hard. Whoever was the stunt double knew what he was doing though. Scorpion would've totally won if Cage didn't bust out that gymnastics sh#t lol
  • Ken J
    Well, the Reptile fight had two people who looked like they fought well. Johnny Cage sucked, so Scorpion was the only bad ass one in that scene, but he was just so bad ass, he was basically playing with Cage, he could have killed him pretty badly if he put all of his effort into it I think, lol.
  • ogb
    I would to add that they should stay away from the way MK evolved in the recent games. The new costumes, weapons, just doesn't work for me and it will translate poorly onto the big screen. It would just be goofy.

    The one thing about MK1 was that it was believable (in the realm of the movie). The fantasy element was handled very well. The costumes and the powers weren't exaggerated. We only saw one fireball and one bicycle kick from Liu Kang and it was perfect. I can just see them hiring some hack director who thinks it would be "cool" to have Liu Kang run around throwing fireballs around the whole movie.

    @John

    No way should the cast Jet Li in this. The guy is old and is now completely relying on the "wire fu" fighting. It would look stupid.
  • John "Kahless" Taylor
    I meant, if I were Shang Tzu I would have have chosen her.
  • John "Kahless" Taylor
    Heck yeah, give me another one to make up for the last one! But please, oh please, give it enough money to do it right. The first Sonya looked good but couldn't fight worth anything. If I were Shang Tzu I wouldn't have chosen her to fight as well. I would get Michael Jai White to play Jax (he does have martial arts training) and Jett Li to play Shang Tzu (if they do a reboot).
  • ogb
    @ tasouli

    I could definitely see it being a success if done right. There have been numerous games released over the last decade that made the franchise very popular. Just a few months ago DC Vs MK was released and was a financial success. I think the popularity base is there, it just depends on what they do with the movie.


    @ Comic and Ken J

    Going to have to disagree with you guys, respectfully. Reptile was the best fight in the movie and one of the best ever. The best part is in the beginning when the skeleton turns into Reptile ninja and out of no where there's a voice in the background going "Reptile". Where the eff did that come from? But it didn't bother me at all. The music in that fight was perfectly matched with the action (great editing) and we get to see Liu Kang's bicycle kick, which looked great.

    However the Scorpion fight was badass. Period. "Welcome!"...punch to the face.
  • tasouli
    I cannot see a mortal combat movie ever being a major success..
    with that being said, if they must do another film, they shoudl reboot the franchise to teh beginning, the last mk was worse than batman and robin so they really cannot continue through with taht story.

    Maybe a better idea would be making more geared toward subzero or scorpion, seeing as to how they are the most popular characters. They would have to make it more real and less like a video game, probably showing us an origin of one of the characters in teh beginnning of the movie and show how they evolve and gain their powers and have to compete in a battle known as mortal kombat.

    Again, I do NOT see this being a good movie no matter what way they do it...but maybe they can make it an acceptable movie like the first MK
  • ComicFanatic
    The scorpion fight was the best fight. Second was lui Kang vs Reptile
  • SK-47
    Kofi, whaaaaaaaaattttt!!!
    Yeah dude i saw WMAC too! It was hosted by Bruce Lee's daughter right? They had to fight ninjas during some of the competitions where at the end the finalists would fight each other.
  • Ken J
    The Scorpion fight in MK1 was one of the coolest scenes in the movie in my opinion. I didn't like Johnny Cage at all in that movie and enjoyed watching him almost get his butt royally whooped by Scorpion because he was for most of the fight...
  • mariokilledpeach
    here's a bit of geeky trivia for ya, James Remar - who played Raiden in Mortal Kombat Annihilation was originally cast as Hicks in Aliens!

    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001664/bio

    I can't imagine anyone else apart from Michael Biehn playing that role!
  • ogb
    Chris Casamassa is the man!

    Seriously though, MK1 had a HUGE impact on my life. Saw it as a kid, LOVED it and everything about it (soundtrack, actors, etc.) Since then I've watched it at least 15 times straight threw and watched the fight scenes hundreds of times. Inspired me to take up Muay Thai and I've had a few amateur fights in Smokers between my gym and others.

    I still say it's one of the best martial arts movies ever made, as well as one of the best action movies. No need to go into detail but I got proof :)

    2nd one was okay. Music was good, fight scenes pretty damn good. Everything else was ruined. Actors were crap (Sonya looked like a soccer mom from Beverly Hills, Jax and his stupid lines "Shao what!!!" lol, and Raiden was turned into a short haired dad figure), too many characters in the movie, etc.


    This sequel/remake/reboot sounds promising. But not holding my breath. Remember when Lynden Ashby (sp?) was on a talk show about 5-9 years ago talking about reprising his role as Johnny Cage? That kept me excited for a couple of years until I realized it's not happening.

    But, Midway did just sell its assets due to bankruptcy and Warner Brothers now owns the rights to Mortal Kombat. That might be a good thing, a big movie studio behind it.
  • Bruce Darren Acosta
    A remake is a good thing I would like to see new actors to play Liu Kang,Kung Lao,Kitana,Sonya,Johnny Blade and Rayden
    The original actors Robin Shou and Linden Ashby could be in the mix but they are too old to reprise their roles but I would like to see Shin Koyamada to do the Liu Kang role same with Jon Foo to play Kung Lao maybe Andy On as The great Kung Lao.
    Lets take it to the top.
    Thank You.
    BRUCE ACOSTA
    AUSTRALIA.
  • Lei
    I am really hoping for another movie! (Please make it awesome) Does anyone know if the interview with Chris Casamassa was done before the lawsuit and WB buying the rights of MK, or after all this happened? Its an important question on the validity of this project starting to film in September.
  • Kofi Outlaw
    "Ever heard of Chris Casamassa?"

    DAWG. I used to watch a little show called "WMAC Masters" every Sunday (you might've heard of it...or not). Casamassa and many other martial arts actors you didn't even knew you knew were on that show. It was WWE, only with martial arts. It even had "ninjas." It TOTALLY rocked.
  • skippy2057
    Hopefully not. The first one was cheesy fun and quite exciting in parts. The second one (which I caught on TV the other night strangely enough) was horrible - I was surprised how bad it was.
  • lego
    bridgette wilson = sonya blade
    shes also pete sampras' wife.

    www.imdb.com it if in doubt
  • RastaZen
    one more thing..... will someone PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE give Ray Park his own super hero movie ????????
    I would like to see him play Iron Fist , however , I think this guy is such an AWESOME martial artist that I would accept him in another super role.
    what do you think , my fellow Ranters ?
    what other super hero do you think Park could or should play ?
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