The Mortal Kombat movie wraps production, with one of its stars sharing an emotional message on social media. Serving as a reboot of the film series which began in 1995, and which itself was based on the popular video game of the same name, the roots of the upcoming Mortal Kombat film go back to 2010. At the time, director Kevin Tancharoen released a short film titled Mortal Kombat: Rebirth. With a running time of eight minutes, it was meant to serve as a pitch to revive the franchise for the big screen. Tancharoen was later announced as the director for a full feature-length film based on the short. With a budget of $40-50 million, and a release set for 2013, the project would end up halted by delays. Tancharoen ultimately quit Rebirth in October 2013.

The reboot would regain momentum after James Wan signed on as a producer in 2015. Simon McQuoid, who was making his debut behind the camera, had been tapped as a director. Greg Russo would pen the script. Though the duo doesn’t have many credits to their name, their collaboration comes with high hopes. The original Mortal Kombat movie reached more than $120 million at the worldwide box office, on a budget of $18 million. While the critical reception wasn’t overwhelmingly positive, and, in the case of the sequel, was outright negative, the franchise has a built-in fanbase that has been eager to see what an updated adaptation of the video game might look like. With filming for the reboot officially wrapped, one of Mortal Kombat’s stars took to social media to share an emotional message with fans.

Lewis Tan, who has been cast in an undisclosed role, posted the message on his Instagram page. Tan thanked the cast and crew, noting his appreciation for McQuoid’s leadership as the director. The actor also noted that he enjoyed his time in Australia, where filming took place. The most personal part of the post comes when Tan mentions his niece who was born with a rare lung disease. Read the full post, and check out the photos and videos which Tan included, below.

Tan, who has appeared in Deadpool 2 and Into The Badlands, is joining a large cast in Mortal Kombat. So far, it has been announced Joe Taslim will portray Sub-Zero. Jessica McNamee will step into the role of Sonya Blade. Ludi Lin, who had a memorable supporting role in an episode of Black Mirror, will play Liu Kang. Tan’s character is one of the few that has been kept under wraps.

Initially intended to premiere on March 5th, 2021, the release date for Mortal Kombat has been pushed up to January 15th by Warner Brothers. The cast is populated by capable talents, some of whom are deadringers for their video game equivalents, but they might not be household names just yet. That could very well by the time the reboot arrives, popularizing brutal Fatalities to a whole new audience.

More: 10 Fatalities We Hope To See In The R-Rated Mortal Kombat Movie

Source: Lewis Tan

  • Mortal Kombat - 2021 Release Date: 2021-04-23