Mortal Kombat was all the rage in the 1990s. The video games were proving incredibly popular with the kids and ticking off parents and government officials alike. And the movies were performing solidly as well. Well, the first movie. 1995's Mortal Kombat received average reviews, but grossed a very solid $122 million. The sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, was critically lambasted, grossed a disappointing $51 million, and is now widely regarded as one of the worst movies ever.
The movie is memorable, but most people don't know facts from behind the scenes. These are ten behind the scenes details fans should know about the 90s movies.
Cameron Diaz Was Cast As Sonya
Mortal Kombat is a decent movie, but it's sorely lacking in star power. Despite the good performances, few have gone on to enjoy prosperous movie careers. But that might not have necessarily been the case.
Diaz, fresh off The Mask, was originally cast as Sonya. Unfortunately, a wrist injury prevented her from committing to the movie, and she was eventually replaced by Bridgette Wilson.
Various Actors Were Considered For Johnny Cage
The producers of Mortal Kombat certainly had ambition. While the role of Johnny Cage eventually went to Linden Ashby (who did an admirable job), he wasn't the producers' first choice. Or even their second.
Rumor has it that Brandon Lee was scheduled to play Cage, but he tragically died in an on-set accident while filming The Crow. It was then offered to Jean-Claude Van Damme, but he turned it down to do Street Fighter instead.
Linden Ashby Bruised A Kidney
Speaking of Ashby, he was the unfortunate recipient of the movie's only on-set accident. Despite the intricate martial arts action and myriad of stunts, the filming of Mortal Kombat was relatively incident-free.
However, Linden Ashby reportedly suffered a bruised kidney while filming the fight sequence between Johnny Cage and Scorpion.
The Movie Shot At The Holiest Temple In Thailand
The movie opens with a fight (more of a beatdown) between Shang Tsung and Liu Kang's brother, Chan.
This sequence was filmed at a beautiful location known as Wat Phra Si Sanphet. In English, Temple of the Holy, Splendid Omniscient. This was once a part of the Royal Palace of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Wat Phra Si Sanphet was considered the holiest temple at the Royal Palace.
An Outhouse Was Built On Set To Alleviate Repeated Boat Trips
Mortal Kombat filmed in various secluded areas around Thailand, including the country's gorgeous Railay Beach. Unfortunately, many of these locations (the beach chief among them) were only accessible by boat.
Because of this, actors and crew members were ferried back to the mainland when they needed to...do their business. The movie's location manager, Gerrit Folsom, eventually constructed an outhouse near the set to alleviate the problem.
Various Scenes Were Added And Omitted
As with any movie, various scenes were added and omitted from Mortal Kombat, some of them quite major. According to Robin Shou, the actor playing Liu Kang, there was originally going to be a romantic subplot between Liu Kang and Princess Kitana, but this was cut to favor the martial arts action.
The Reptile fight also wasn't part of the original edit - it was only added later after focus groups expressed their disappointment in the movie's fight scenes.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Auditioned In Costume
The casting process for the movie was mostly quite troubled. But not when it came to Shang Tsung.
Tagawa showed up at his audition completely in character - including costume. He also performed his lines while standing atop a chair, a cute little quirk that earned him instant adoration from the casting directors. They were so impressed with Tagawa's audition that he was instantly chosen to play Shang Tsung.
Scorpion Was Voiced By Ed Boon
Mortal Kombat fans will undoubtedly know the name Ed Boon - Boon is the co-creator of the Mortal Kombat series, alongside John Tobias.
Not only is he the series' co-creator, but he's also provided the voices of Scorpion, Liu Kang, Sub-Zero, Noob Saibot, and Jax. Boon made a little cameo in the Mortal Kombat movie, reprising his role as Scorpion. Not the fighting part. Just the voice.
Annihilation Was Going To Contain Elements Of Mortal Kombat 4
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is very loosely based on the story of Mortal Kombat 3, and it features new characters from Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.
The script also contained story elements from Mortal Kombat 4, which had been released in October of 1997 (just one month before Annihilation), but these were eventually cut from the finished product. It didn't really matter in the end. The movie was so bad that no one would have cared, anyway.
Ed Boon Doesn't Like Annihilation
Annihilation is bad. Really bad. The movie sits at a pitiful 2% on Rotten Tomatoes, 11 (yes, 11) on Metacritic, and 3.7/10 on IMDb. It's widely regarded as one of the worst movies ever. And even series creator Ed Boon despises it.
While discussing twelve Mortal Kombat memories with Complex, Boon bluntly stated, "I don't know if this is my least favorite memory, but I wasn't a big fan of the second movie." Judging by those critical scores, no one is a fan of the second movie.