Mortal Kombat writer Greg Russo teased that he'll be involved in another massive video game franchise film adaptation. Having only written Mortal Kombat, Russo is still fresh on the scene. The first film set up a sequel, and Warner Bros. has laid the foundation for a larger franchise if the first one performed well enough.
Russo's version of the popular fighting game follows Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a washed-up MMA fighter who discovers that he's been chosen as a warrior to defend Earthrealm. With Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) looking to take him out of the running before the tournament even begins, he must work with the other chosen warriors to defend his realm against Outworld. Mortal Kombat debuted in theaters and on HBO Max on the same date during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It earned an estimated $83.6 million on a $55 million budget.
Russo hinted at his next project on Twitter. He made sure not to directly reveal the franchise that he's talking about when he posted about his involvement. While he only wrote Mortal Kombat, he plans on directing this next project. The only major clue that he dropped was the mention of a first-person shooter (FPS). He's still in the process of securing the deal, although he mentioned that more details are supposedly being released very soon. See below for his message:
In the comments, people immediately started trying to guess the adaptation and demand the titles they wanted to see on the silver screen. Folks threw out titles including Halo, Turok, Call of Duty, Half-Life, among others. A few tweets dropped some funny guesses, such as Duck Hunt. Given that a television adaptation of Halo has been in a constant state of development, it seems unlikely. In regards to Turok, he responded, "I tried. I swear I tried!!!" so it's clear that it didn't work out. There are many great FPS titles out there, so it isn't easy to guess exactly what he has in the pipeline.
When it comes to live-action video game adaptations on the big screen, they certainly have the potential to perform well at the box office, such as 2020's Sonic the Hedgehog. However, some critics refer to the "video game adaptation curse," regarding how they rarely are well-received—starting with Super Mario Bros. back in 1993 up to the 2021 Mortal Kombat. Perhaps one of the most critically well-received is Detective Pikachu in 2019. There are still numerous video game adaptation projects in the works. Stay tuned for more information on what could very well be Russo's next project.
Source: Greg Russo