James Wan’s Mortal Kombat movie reboot will reportedly film in Australia, with pre-production set to go ahead this month. The 2D fighting game Mortal Kombat first appeared back in 1992, and quickly became one of the most popular arcade games of all time thanks to its frenzied action, array of exotic characters and selection of devastating finishing moves. Home versions of the game soon popped up on video game consoles, and the series is still going strong into 2019, with the last installment, Mortal Kombat 11, arriving in April.
The first movie version of Mortal Kombat came way back in 1995, with future Resident Evil helmer Paul W.S. Anderson in the director’s chair, and a cast that included Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Christopher Lambert and Talisa Soto. The film went on to gross $122 million worldwide, and was followed by the sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation as well as the TV spinoff series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm and Mortal Kombat: Conquest. Efforts to get a new movie reboot off the ground kicked off in 2011 with New Line Cinema tapping Kevin Tancharoen (Fame) to direct. Tancharoen would eventually leave the delayed project however, and New Line would bring in James Wan as producer, with Simon McQuoid later joining as director.
The latest update on Mortal Kombat indicates that things are moving forward quickly on the reboot film, with a shooting location now chosen. As reported by ABC Adelaide’s Claire Campbell, the premier of South Australia Steven Marshall announced in a press conference that Mortal Kombat will film in the province, and indeed will be the largest movie ever made there, with the local economy benefiting to the tune of 580 jobs and $70 million in revenue. The film reportedly will go into pre-production beginning this month.
Story details for the new take on Mortal Kombat are not yet known, but back in July 2018 a character breakdown was revealed that indicated the movie would revolve around a new character named Cole Turner, and would also include a 14-year-old version of the video game character Raiden. However, the breakdown was later claimed to be false by producer Todd Garner. Back in March, a report surfaced saying Joel Edgerton is being sought to star in the movie as video game character Kano.
It remains to be seen what exactly Wan has in store for the new reboot of Mortal Kombat, but there’s no doubt the producer has a solid track record with action, having directed the blockbusters Aquaman and Furious 7. The first Mortal Kombat movie may have been a solid hit at the time, but fans don’t necessarily remember it very fondly today, and are hoping the next cinematic take on the beloved video game title does a better job of delivering the bone-crunching goods.
More: 30 Hidden Details Only True Fans Noticed In The Original Mortal Kombat Movies
Source: Claire Campbell/Twitter
