Mortal Kombat’s Bizarre History of Movie and TV Adaptations

Mortal Kombat (1995)

The authentic Mortal Kombat film is extensively considered top-of-the-line online game diversifications to this point. Which, granted, is a really doubtful honor. Even so, the film nonetheless stands as a stable instance of how one can carry the collection to life in live-action. It presents a fairly devoted retelling of the unique recreation’s extraordinarily barebones storyline, whereas drawing in parts of Mortal Kombat II and a few of the backstory from the tie-in comics. Like many diversifications, it positions Liu Kang (Robin Chou) because the central hero destined to defeat the soul-stealing Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa). For purists, the film’s greatest sin is just that it does not replicate the violence of the video games, opting as a substitute for a extra pedestrian PG-13 method.

What the film does seize, nonetheless, is that important undercurrent of camp and zaniness that goes hand-in-hand with the gratuitous violence. Mortal Kombat the film undoubtedly is not responsible of taking itself too critically. It’s additionally the film that launched the world to The Immortals’ “Techno Syndrome,” essentially the most iconic online game music this facet of the Super Mario Bros. theme.

Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins (1995)

There’s some fairly stiff competitors with regards to deciding the worst Mortal Kombat adaptation ever made, however this direct-to-video launch may take the highest honor. Released forward of the live-action movie and ostensibly a prequel to mentioned movie, The Journey Begins units about fleshing out the origin tales of assorted MK icons. But the connective tissue is doubtful at greatest. And as dated because the CGI within the live-action film could also be, it is state-of-the-art in comparison with the archaic, sub-Playstation high quality 3D combat scenes in The Journey Begins. Hardcore followers might need to watch this one out of sheer, morbid curiosity (particularly because it’s included as a bonus characteristic on the Mortal Kombat Blu-ray), however do not count on it to truly improve your enjoyment of the video games or the films.

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (1996)

The ’80s and ’90s TV panorama was affected by makes an attempt to translate adults-only popular culture properties into kid-friendly cartoons. Case in level – RoboCop: The Animated Series, Rambo: The Force of Freedom and Toxic Crusaders. We actually need to respect Kenner’s moxie for deciding to chop out the intermediary and immediately market Terminator 2 and Aliens toys to children with out even ready for cartoons.

With Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, USA Network threw its razor-edged hat into the ring. This short-lived collection aired on the community’s Action Extreme Team block in 1996. Somewhat bafflingly, it makes an attempt to function a continuation of each the 1995 film and the Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 online game, although the all-ages method mainly renders that moot. Defenders of the Realm simplifies the complicated collection of alliances and rivalries that outline the MK mythos, as a substitute that includes a staff of heroes led by Raiden and Nighthawk tasked with defending Earthrealm from Shao Kahn’s interdimensional invaders.

Defenders of the Realm does make one notable addition to the franchise, nonetheless. The collection was really the primary to introduce Quan Chi earlier than his roles in Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat 4.

Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)

If the primary Mortal Kombat film is among the many greatest makes an attempt at adapting a online game to movie, its sequel is well among the many worst. It’s not essentially that Annihilation performs quick and unfastened with the supply materials. It introduces quite a lot of fashionable characters like Shao Kahn (Brian Thompson), Jax (Lynn Williams) and Sindel (Musetta Vandel), together with acquainted MK parts like Animalities, the demise of Johnny Cage and Kuai Liang taking over his brother’s mantle as Sub-Zero. The downside is that the film fails to string any of that collectively right into a coherent and fascinating story. There’s not a lot inner logic to what occurs or which characters seem.

But even when the plot lived as much as the primary film, Annihilation is plagued with awful results, underwhelming combat scenes, and actors who would seemingly somewhat be anyplace else. It’s telling that, aside from Chou’s Liu Kang, practically all of the returning characters had been recast for the sequel. But if nothing else, not less than the soundtrack is fairly good.

Mortal Kombat: Conquest (1998)

While Annihilation mainly destroyed Mortal Kombat’s big-screen prospects for the subsequent 20 years, that did not cease TNT from airing a live-action TV collection in 1998. Mortal Kombat: Conquest serves as a prequel to the films, going down 500 years earlier than the period of Liu Kang. Instead, Conquest revolves round Liu’s ancestor Kung Lao (Paolo Montalbán), a warrior monk tasked with coaching a brand new era of fighters to defend Earthrealm. While lots of the collection’ supporting characters are new creations, many MK fan-favorites present up over the course of Conquest’s one and solely season.

The greatest that may be mentioned for Conquest is that it was forward of its time. The prequel premise is powerful, and it is actually a greater offshoot of the 1995 movie than Annihilation. But even on the time, it was tough to disregard the awful wire-fu combat scenes and customarily dangerous particular results. It’s arduous to not surprise what might need been if Conquest had come alongside a decade or two later.

Mortal Kombat: Rebirth (2010)

Outside of the video games themselves, the MK franchise largely went dormant within the ’00s. It wasn’t till filmmaker Kevin Tancharoen took the initiative and put collectively a brief, unauthorized Mortal Kombat film that the ball began rolling once more.

Though produced on a really low finances and never sanctioned by Warner Bros. or Mortal Kombat’s creators, Tancharoen’s quick movie Mortal Kombat: Rebirth is a surprisingly skilled adaptation. Rebirth is exclusive in that it downplays the franchise’s supernatural trappings, as a substitute casting Scorpion (Ian Anthony Dale) as an murderer working with Captain Jackson Briggs (Michael Jai White) and Sonya Blade (Jeri Ryan) to carry down Shang Tsung’s felony empire and get revenge on his nemesis, Sub-Zero.

Tancharoen meant for Rebirth to function a proof-of-concept for a attainable film reboot. He form of bought his want as he was given the reins of the live-action net collection Mortal Kombat: Legacy.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy (2011)

Tancharoen returned to the MK franchise the next 12 months, this time with the precise approval of Warner Bros. and a greenlight for a full season of live-action webisodes unique to Machinima. Legacy does not observe the brand new continuity established in Rebirth, although Dale, White and Ryan all returned to reprise their roles for Season 1. Instead, Legacy acts as a prequel to the unique recreation, with every Season 1 episode fleshing out the backstory for a special Kombatant.

Season 2 proved to be a reasonably steep departure, with Legacy shifting to a extra narrative-driven method whereas bringing in quite a lot of new characters and recasting many current roles. One bonus of that revamp is that Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa was capable of reprise the function of Shang Tsung (paving the way in which for him to make the bounce over to the video games within the type of Mortal Kombat 11 DLC).

As inconsistent as it’s by way of tone and plot, Legacy exhibits the potential in a extra earnest tackle the MK mythology. It additionally appears to be like surprisingly sturdy for a free-to-watch net collection.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge (2020)

Mortal Kombat returned to the animated realm in 2020, in what proved to be a vastly higher adaptation than both The Journey Begins or Defenders of the Realm. It helps that Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge is aimed squarely at adults. In reality, this direct-to-video launch is definitely the primary R-rated Mortal Kombat film.

Scorpion’s Revenge is an adaptation of the unique recreation’s storyline, however with a twist. Rather than framing the film across the heroic Liu Kang, we’ll see the fateful event from Scorpion’s perspective. The film explores the character’s tragic origin story and the beginnings of his feud with Sub-Zero. You can be taught extra in IGN’s Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge assessment.

The first movie has confirmed fashionable sufficient to spawn three extra direct-to-video sequels, 2021’s Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, 2022’s Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind, and 2023’s Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match.

Mortal Kombat Reboot (2021)

After years of rumors about one other live-action Mortal Kombat film, the franchise lastly returned to the large display screen in 2021. The new film is not related to earlier tasks, however as a substitute serves as an entire reboot. Star Mehcad Brooks (who performs Jax) describes it as having “grounded realism” regardless of retaining the Fatalities and different violent trappings of the video games. Here’s a full breakdown of the Mortal Kombat reboot’s solid.

The reboot hit theaters and HBO Max concurrently in April 2021. You can try IGN’s Mortal Kombat assessment for extra. Though the pandemic clearly affected the movie’s field workplace haul, it proved critically and commercially profitable sufficient that Warners greenlit a sequel.

Mortal Kombat 2 (2025)

The rebooted Mortal Kombat collection will return to theaters in 2025 within the type of a sequel presently titled merely Mortal Kombat 2. In addition to returning favorites like Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, and Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, the movie may also introduce Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage, Martyn Ford’s Shao Kahn, Damoin Herriman’s Quan Chi, and Adeline Rudolph’s Kitana. We not too long ago bought a better have a look at a number of of the solid members.

At this level, there appears little doubt that Mortal Kombat 2 can be a greater sequel than Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was, however that is not precisely a excessive bar to cross. The query is whether or not the sequel can proceed the momentum generated by the unique and pave the way in which for much more of the proposed sequels. There’s loads of combat left on this franchise but.

Note: this text was initially revealed on 04/09/2020 and up to date on 03/17/2025 with the newest information in regards to the Mortal Kombat franchise.

Jesse is a mild-mannered workers author for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your mental thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.