Since the early 1990s, Mortal Kombat has been one of the most successful and long-running video game franchises in history. The games were adapted for film in 1995, but after a disappointing sequel in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and a short-lived television show, fans' favorite combatants remained trapped in the confines of their video game world, with a return to live-action little more than a distant possibility.

Enter Kevin Tancharoen's Mortal Kombat: Legacy. That web series has effectively given the franchise the resurgence it so desperately needed. Not only were people once again talking about memorable characters like Sub-Zero, Sonya Blade and Liu Kang, but a possible movie reboot has became more of an inevitability. Tancharoen has since been selected to spearhead the new film, and now – as season 2 of Legacy prepares to launch – we have an update on its status.

According to ComingSoon.net, the next Mortal Kombat film is still in development and slowly moving forward. Here's what Tancharoen had to say about the project:

"We're still pushing through on that. The script is in a good place. We're just kind of figuring out the budget and locations and that whole process is where we're at."

Mortal Kombat Legacy II (season 2) trailer (2013)
The Mortal Kombat Legacy Miniseries

Months ago, we heard rumors that the filmmaker had secured a budget between $40 million and $50 million for the film. However, those numbers were unofficial and could very well not reflect the current vision for the Mortal Kombat reboot. Quite possibly, Tancharoen has been putting his time and effort into the second season of Legacy in hopes that it will boost the franchise's reclaimed popularity even further, thereby helping to push the film through development a bit more smoothly.

Fans may have to wait a bit longer for Mortal Kombat to return to the big screen, but one thing that they shouldn't hold their breath for is a film that will translate the Legacy web series to film, Tancharoen said.

"I think everyone's intention is to start fresh because we want Legacy to live on its own possibly for multiple seasons, and when it comes to Mortal Kombat, it's been around for 20+ years. We're going to take the mythology and add another layer on it so it can live on for another 20 years or more! I think this is a unique opportunity to set that ground work."

The logic here is, of course, not to restrict what either the web series or prospective film can do. Legacy has been limited to a much lower budget and its grittier, more grounded aesthetic may not be the best route to take for the film, since there will be more room to introduce some of the franchise's more supernatural elements. That being said, fans of Legacy's tone are not likely to embrace a campy PG-13 version of their beloved franchise.

Are you disappointed that the new Mortal Kombat film will start fresh, story-wise? Would you like to see it embrace the tone of Legacy or take another approach entirely? Sound off in the comments section below.

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Mortal Kombat: Legacy II will debut online on September 26, 2013, only on Machinima.

Source: ComingSoon.net