Actor Lewis Tan has reacted to the news of the Mortal Kombat trailer breaking the all-time red band trailer record. Scheduled to release on HBO Max and in theaters on April 16, the new Mortal Kombat movie marks the cinematic return of the bombastically violent martial arts video game franchise after a 24-year hiatus. The last movie, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, was universally panned, which caused the third film to languish in development hell for several years. But now, director Simon McQuaid and producer James Wan are looking to change things around in their new feature film, which not only promises game-accurate Fatalities, but also includes many original characters from the arcade game, including Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Jax, Sonya Blade, Raiden, Kano, and Shang Tsung. While the new movie faithfully honors the MK universe, its lead, Cole Young, is an original character, played by Wu Assassins' Lewis Tan.
On February 18, after months of anticipation, Mortal Kombat dropped its gory, Fatality and Animality-filled, R-rated trailer. Offering a detailed view at the upcoming live-action reboot, the campy footage showcased the first looks at Young and several other fan-favorite characters, along with brutal fights, new tournament matchups, classic moves, and startling story reveals. The dazzling trailer expectedly hyped fans up for the new movie. So much so that it ended up breaking the record of the most-watched red band movie trailer of all time. The footage crossed 116 million views in its first week, astonishingly trending in 52 territories worldwide on YouTube and 28 markets on Twitter.
Now, Mortal Kombat's lead star, Tan, has reacted to the movie's trailer success. Posting a shirtless, battered photo of himself to Twitter, Tan expressed his elation at the footage's success. The Cole Young actor added that he received the auspicious news while eating a piece of broccoli in his vanity. Tan's picture also included an elegant bouquet, which was probably gifted to him as a token of appreciation for his contribution in helping Mortal Kombat achieve new feats. Take a look at his post below:
As Tan himself mentioned, the craziest part for him about this new achievement is the fact that he was a part of Deadpool 2, which held the record for the red band movie trailer with the most views before Mortal Kombat. Released in 2018, the Ryan Reynolds-led, R-rated superhero film had previously taken the red-band trailer mantle from fellow X-men series entry, Logan. In the film, Tan starred as Shatterstar/ Gaveedra-Seven, a genetically engineered, master swordsman superhero from Mojoworld. Deadpool 2 was the film that skyrocketed Tan to success. And now, the actor has found his biggest break in Mortal Kombat, which is already shaping up to be a huge success.
Even with a smashingly hit trailer, the road ahead isn't exactly promising for the Mortal Kombat reboot. Some fans are disgruntled over Johnny Cage's exclusion from the trailer, and with several theaters closed across the country, box office totals are also less telling of the film's success. But even if the movie fails to make a fortune, the prospects for Tan will, nevertheless, be encouraging. The actor has found immense success in recent years, and being a part of two red band trailer viewership record-breaking films definitely bodes well for him. Mortal Kombat is Tan's biggest project so far, and he is evidently giving his all to the film. That said, after this movie, there is nothing stopping him from becoming a fan-favorite megastar.
Source: Lewis Tan
