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If you think about Mortal Kombat, you think of blood. Buckets of it. The kind of gruesome splash that comes from ‘kali ma shakti de’ – an opponent in a fierce battle to the death. But, as director Simon McQuoid thought of it for the upcoming reload of the video game, blood has many meanings. “Blood represents family,” he tells EW. “Blood represents a connection. Blood represents who we are. Without getting too complicated, what we have done is to use blood rightly.” And it starts flowing right from the start.
If this new approach Mortal Kombat, revealed in EW’s exclusive first look photos, is a ‘blood universe’, McQuoid says the kunai blade lies in its middle. This is the distinctive weapon of the fan-favorite game character Hanzo Hasashi, aka Scorpion, played by Logan and The Twilight Samurai ster Hiroyuki Sanada. “We did a little research and the kunai is actually an old Japanese garden tool,” the director explains. “So, one of the earliest shots in the film is the kunai blade used by Hanzo’s wife as a garden tool.”
Mortal Kombat, produced by Todd Garner and Aquamansays James Wan, begins with an important piece of story from the original games: the blood feud between the sexes of Hanzo and Bi-Han (Krygersee Joe Taslim). The ten-minute initial series begins in feudal Japan, long before these fighters used supernatural abilities like Scorpion and Sub-Zero, and ends in a ‘nasty hand-to-hand battle’ between the two, McQuoid says. This is why for the first time the filmmaker Sanada and Taslim, two actors, are known for their skill in the martial arts. “[Hanzo’s] the leader of a ninja clan and he’s strong, but also … in the beginning he’s a peaceful family man, “says Sanada.” It’s like a family drama with exciting brutal battles. This is the image of this film for me, ‘he adds.
The story of Bi-Han and Hanzo ‘had to be told in battle’, says McQuoid. “There are some excellent camera movements to give it a bit of dynamism, which makes it really enjoyable. We needed it to be really elemental and really brutal. It’s not a brilliant film … I wanted the filth and the filth to get through. “
This brutality conveys to the present, where we meet Cole Young, a whole new character for the Mortal Kombat world played by actor and martial artist Lewis Tan (Wu Killers, In the Badlands), someone who prides himself on performing his own tricks, despite the aches and pains that occur during exercise.
“When we meet Cole for the first time, he’s really bad,” says Tan. “He is very lucky. He is a flushed MMA fighter who used to be a champion, who believed in himself, who had a lot of hope in his career. And it all went down the drain. This is a very interesting place for a hero to start, and I think it’s on the journey of Mortal Kombat and Cole discovers where he’s coming from, you are introduced to all these other iconic characters and elements that everyone loves so much. ‘
Cole knows nothing of his legacy except for the mysterious birthmark on his chest – in the form of the Mortal Kombat symbol. Tan stays mum about how this birthmark connects to the character’s origins, but agrees: ‘it’s a unique symbol’ that ‘will eventually join the journey he’s going through.’ It remains the only clue Cole has when the sinister wizard and emperor of the rich Outerworld, Shang Tsung (Skyscraper‘s Chin Han) sends Sub-Zero, now with his crooked powers, to hunt him down.
Major Jackson “Jax” Briggs (Super girl‘s Mehcad Brooks), a special forces bearer of the same brand as Cole, urges him to seek out Sonya Blade (The Megsee Jessica McNamee). She transports him further to the next leg of the journey, to the thundering Elder God known as Lord Raiden (Thor‘s Tadanobu Asano), who gives a shrine in his temple to all with the mark. There, Cole meets even more recognizable characters from the Mortal Kombat Games – Liu Kang (Power Rangers‘Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (actor and stuntman Max Huang), and Kano (SuperstoreJosh Lawson) – while they are all training for a high tournament to defeat the invading enemies from the outside world.
Tan is familiar with the idea of legacy. His father, Philip Tan, a national champion champion, began his film career on Tim Burton Batman and he progressed to choreographer, stunt coordinator and director of the second unit. Tan has fond memories of rolling around the stunt mats on film sets as a child. Mortal Kombat is now the first starring role in the high-profile actor from the studio that introduced his father’s career. Tan also realizes the legacy of the original games.
“I played the game from a young age,” he says. “For lack of a better way to describe it, you do not want to confuse it because it is so iconic. You want to bring something new to the table that people have not seen before, but at the same time really respect and pay tribute. to these legendary worlds that have already been created. ‘
Cole is definitely something that fans have not seen before. While many gamers can recall the unique fighting moves of famous names, such as the daggers of Mileena (played by actress Sisi Stringer), Tan uses his own experience to develop a fresh style for Cole. He picks up UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal for the ‘salt-of-the-earth’, while also using muay Thai (or Thai kickboxing), judo, jujitsu and ‘MMA roots’.
‘I wanted to make sure everyone respected the material, the history of Mortal Kombat, the fans and the love they have for this. Everyone was clear about it, “says McQuoid about the development of the recharge. Respect for the material also means that we have to tend towards what Mortal Kombat so popular after all these years. Blood has a lot to do with it.
As a joke, McQuoid told stunt coordinator Kyle Gardiner to make ‘the best fight series ever done in a movie’. In fact, according to McQuoid and Tan, these action pieces are some of the best-rated elements of the film that came out of early test screenings. ‘We need to be smart about how we go about it [the fights], “remarks the director,” and there are times that you will see when you see the film, or it’s just ‘F — it! Let’s have some fun. ”
McQuoid is still editing the film, but he already knows that it will definitely not get a PG-13 rating.
“Out of context, this quote may seem contagious, it is not: the rules around ratings are not what many people think,” he says. “It’s the amount of blood, it’s the amount of red, it’s the interpretation of how you go about it. We had a lot of discussions to get the balance right, so there was blood flow and there was blood and there were deaths.” He pauses to repeat what he just said. “And there is blood vessels, blood and deaths. ”
The deaths, as in the dramatic finishes of the games that often involve someone being completely cut in half or someone’s spine being pulled out, will for the first time in a Mortal Kombat Movie. “There are some crazy deaths,” Tan confirms. “We chose some iconic ones. There are a lot of cool autographs that you will see, a lot of Easter eggs that we hid in the movie, but there are some bad deaths that I can not wait to see on the big screen. “They are cruel, man. They, they do not hold back.” At the same time, McQuoid “did not want to enter the NC-17 area.” He remarks: “It’s amazing how fast you can get there. It does not take much. “At least not for a Mortal Kombat Movie.
The film is scheduled for a simultaneous release in theaters and on HBO Max on April 16th.