Mortal Kombat is perhaps the most celebrated fighting video game series of all time and has amassed an enormous following over its 28-year history. With a collection of fantastic characters, in-depth lore, an expansive story, and, obviously, some insane fighting. The game seems made for the big screen, but when it happened in both 1995 and 1997, it did not work - even if the latter has gained cult status.

However, twenty-five years later, fans are preparing for a new film. Set to release in 2021, Mortal Kombat will hit the big screen once again, and for fans, this can either mean lots of excitement, or intense worry. Here are five reasons we are excited about the new Mortal Kombat movie, and five things that have us nervous.

Excited - Plenty Of Source Material

The Mortal Kombat franchise has spawned loads of games, TV shows, books, comics, and two films (that should not have an impact, but do still exist). All of this media gives so much source material for the film to take into account for its narrative.

Little is known about the plot of the movie thus far. But, all fans hope that the film draws from the relevant source material and that the arcs, played out in a lot of the games that fans have come to adore, have their place in Mortal Kombat. There is no reason the story cannot work as long as it is faithful to the material, and with so much of it, the likely prospect of that happening is exciting for fans.

Nervous - First Time Writer & First Time Director

For fans of the Mortal Kombat franchise who are also big film fans, it may be a worry that the director Simon McQuoid has never directed a feature-length film before. Even more so, the writer Greg Russo has never written a feature-length movie.

For an established property, it may be a safer option for a solid movie to be delivered, more experienced filmmakers should be at the helm. There is a worry that first time players in terms of feature-length movies may have inexperience shine through, which could take away from the film.

Excited - James Wan Is Producing &Amp; The Writer/Director Are Huge Video Game Fans

James Wan producing this film can only mean good things. With movies such as Aquaman, the Saw franchise, The Conjuring franchise, and Furious 7 with Wan in the production role, it seems that side of things is safe, especially with NewLine, Warner Bros., and NeatherRealm involved.

As for the writer and director, they may be first-timers in regards to feature-films, but they are not inexperienced, and they love Mortal Kombat and video games. Any look at Simon McQuoid’s commercials, and you can see this. As for Greg Russo, a look at his twitter, or interviews with him, is sure to get a lot of fans excited about what he will bring to the movie.

Nervous - CGI

The advancements in technology have made it so that visual effects and CGI have reached whole new levels that mere decades ago were unimaginable. That said, a lot of the time, CGI can severely hurt a movie.

CGI hurting a movie can happen in multiple ways. If the CGI does not look good, it can ruin whatever is on the screen. Another way is if there is too much CGI, a lot of the time, it is overused and unnecessary. With a big movie like this, especially in the video game genre, CGI will aid this movie, but if not done right, everything can go wrong so quickly.

Excited - The Cast And Characters

So far, there are quite a few fantastic characters announced. Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Lui Kang, Jax, Sonya Blade, Mileena, Kung Lao, Shang Tsung, Kano, Nitara, and Raiden are all confirmed thus far, with more likely to come. Sub-Zero and Scorpion are exciting to fans, as is having Shang Tsung presumably as the villain.

As for the cast, Chin Han, in a brilliant casting move, will play Shang Tsung, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Joe Taslim are also fantastic choices for Sub-Zero and Scorpion, respectively. There are a couple of other great casting choices, namely Ludi Lin as Lui Kang, and Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, with Lewis Tan and Matilda Kimber in mysteriously unknown roles.

Nervous - History Is Not On Its Side

Video game movies have had a hard time over the years. Detective Pikachu and Sonic even, seem to be indicative of an upward trend, especially compared to the likes of Annihilation and Super Mario Bros.

The fact of the matter is, history is not on the side of Mortal Kombat. Video game movies thus far have been unable to strike a balance in terms of adapting the source material for both new audiences and loyal fans. They often take too many liberties with the source material, and it blows up in the face of the movie, and ultimately, history is not in favor of Mortal Kombat.

Excited - It Is Rated R

The announcement that Mortal Kombat will officially be rated-R was music to every fan of the Mortal Kombat franchises’ ears. A big disappointment of the original two - among many - is that they were PG-13 and not rated-R.

Over the past few years, with global and critical hits such as Joker, Logan, and Deadpool being both huge, fantastic rated-R movies, it only serves to excite Mortal Kombat fans. It allows for dark humor and levity, as well as incredible gory action.

Nervous - Risk Of All Style, No Substance

With CGI, with an R-rating, and with a fighting game adapted for film in today’s age, there is a considerable risk that it will over-rely on style, and not focus on substance anywhere near enough.

Mortal Kombat has rich lore to it, and while it, by all means, cannot afford to take itself too seriously, it cannot afford to put all its eggs in the action basket. There should be humor through the narrative. There should also be insane martial arts and effects within the fights, but it cannot be all action; it cannot just be blood and effects. Ultimately, it is a worry that this will be the case.

Excited - Fatalities

Perhaps the only single announcement more exciting than the R-rating is the fact that for the first time, fatalities will be on the big screen for audiences to enjoy sickeningly.

Whose fatalities, the extent of the brutal nature of the fatalities, and how many there will be in the movie are entirely unknown. But as long as there is a right balance with these factors, they cannot disappoint. They are fatalities; after all, they are as iconic as they are brutal.

Nervous - The Cole Turner Rumour

For a long time, there have been rumors circulating of a new, original character that the Mortal Kombat movie will center around. This character’s name is Cole Turner, a character who was a part of the script that was doing the rounds a couple of years ago, who turned out to be Scorpion in the end. One look at Reddit and you will know fans hate it.

Rumors have the character penned as a widowed boxer, dragged into the world of the tournament, who cares immensely for his daughter. Different writers from the one working on this movie initially wrote the character, which gives fans hope. But, the rumors of him being in the film have persisted, especially with Lewis Tan having an undisclosed role in the movie, and if it is true, a lot of loyal fans will be very annoyed.