The Mortal Kombat movie reboot has been in development for nearly a decade, but there are several reasons linked to the long delay. The film is based on the hit martial arts video game franchise which originally debuted in 1992. The first adaptation of the game came in 1995, with Paul W. S. Anderson's movie of the same name, which was then followed by the sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, directed by John R. Leonetti. The long-awaited reboot will finally hit theaters in January 2021 and its path to fruition wasn't the smoothest.
The original Mortal Kombat movie focused on three skilled fighters - Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade - as they went on a dangerous journey to face off against the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung. The fate of Earth hanged in the balance, and in order to beat the evil force, the trio had no choice to enter a tournament testing their strength. The Mortal Kombat movie featured many in-game characters, such as gods from the other realms in addition to Shang Tsung's servants like Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Reptile. The 1997 sequel picked up directly after the events of the first film and thrust the Kombatants into another tournament to save the Earthrealm. The upcoming Mortal Kombat movie reboot will reimagine the series with a fresh perspective while bringing back some of the franchise's best characters.
The plans for a Mortal Kombat initially came about in 2010 after Kevin Tancharoen created the short film titled Mortal Kombat: Rebirth as a studio pitch. At this point, Warner Bros. had just snatched up the rights to the video game series after bankruptcy issues. Tancharoen was hired and a 2013 release date was attached, but after major budget issues and the director's availability due to his focus on the Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series, development fell into disarray. In late 2013, Tancharoen exited the project and development stalled for two years until James Wan was approached to take over as a producer. Even with Wan's involvement, there was no sense of urgency to rush the project, but that was most likely due to the filmmaker's schedule.
James Wan Remained Patient Until The Right Director Was On Board
Wan was well aware of the budgetary issues that plagued the reboot before he signed on to Mortal Kombat. As the studio remained patient for a new script, Wan dove into a pretty hefty schedule. In the years since he signed on for the reboot, he worked on Furious 7, The Conjuring 2, The Nun, Aquaman, and the Annabelle franchise. This surely limited Wan's availability in focusing on Mortal Kombat, but the studio clearly had qualms waiting for the well-established figure to assist on the big project.
Simon McQuoid was hired to direct Mortal Kombat in 2016 and the writer, Greg Russo, didn't confirm that a script was finished until early 2019. This indicated that there were a lot of kinks to work out with the story as well as the studio expectations, but all involved seemed content with waiting until every aspect could be done the right way. The fans waited this long so they seemingly believed patience would benefit the final product. As an extra boost in the reboot's hype, it was confirmed that the title would be R-rated and the game's infamous Fatalities would be featured.
After a slew of casting announcements was made public, including the likes of Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, and Jessica McNamee, filming reportedly kicked off in late 2019 before wrapping in December. Those still worried about Mortal Kombat ever hitting the big screen can rest easy knowing the release date has recently been bumped up from March to January 2021. If no other issues arise, 2021 could kick off with one of the most anticipated titles in recent memory.
