UPDATED: ‘Mortal Kombat’ Movie in the Works as a 7-Minute Introduction Arrives

UPDATE: I have included new information pertaining to the short at the very bottom of this article, below the short itself.

Talk of a new “Mortal Kombat” movie has gained steam over the past year or so and today it seems to have boiled over as a new seven-minute video starring Michael Jai-White as the video game character Jax and Jeri Ryan as Sonya Blade has hit the Internet and CHUD has confirmed it is related to a new film. CHUD’s report includes the following:

This is for the movie, and it comes from the mind of genius fight choreographer Larnell Stovall. He’s the guy who did the fights for the excellent Undisputed 3: Redemption, on DVD and Blu-Ray right now. I hope that this movie gets made with Larnell plotting the punches, because this guy isn’t just a geek like us, he’s also got an incredible skill and ambition to create the next generation of fight choreography.

I’ve only seen the 1995 version of Mortal Kombat based on the Midway video game, but in 2009 Midway went bankrupt and was then acquired by Warner Bros. which means the “Mortal Kombat” rights are in their hands. In 1997 WB released Mortal Kombat: Annihilation under the New Line Cinema banner and its failure essentially killed the franchise. This video would appear to be a complete rebooting of the franchise.

Mortal Kombat (1995) Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)

LatinoReview adds fuel to the fire saying Kevin Tancharoen, the guy who directed 2009’s Fame remake, directed the short film below with fight choreography by Stovall as CHUD mentioned. There is no word on whether or not Tancharoen is confirmed to be directing the film, but one would only assume.

As for the actors involved with this short, along with Jai-White and Ryan, Baraka is played by Lateef Crowder, Scorpion is played by Ian Anthony Dale and Johnny Cage is played by Matt Mullins. Of course, remember, there is no confirmation any of these actors will be joining the film in the same roles should it get greenlit.

IMDb lists Oren Uziel as the screenwriter (based on a January report at Bloody Disgusting), but Uziel revealed to G4TV in May, “No one’s talked to me about it, but if they did, it would be something I would definitely be interested in. It was the movie that launched me in Hollywood, so obviously I have a huge affection for it.”

If there is a little more to the story than presented here in this new seven-minute short it could be interesting. Otherwise, after what we see here, it would appear all that would be left is a bunch of fighting and made up melodrama in an effort to show a series of gruesome fatalities. Pretty standard for a video game feature, the story never seems to be the most important element.

Take a look for yourself and know it may be considered not safe for work due to a little bit of gore, but otherwise it should be fine. It would seem WB may be using the Internet as its test audience… Do you like what you see? If so you better weigh in, a WB exec may be reading.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

The following comes from Collider.com who spoke to director Kevin Tancharoen discussing how the short film was made and his goals for the project.

  • They shot the short film over two days on two RED cameras
  • Started in early April and it took 2 months to do the post production. Most people donated their time. The short was made for $7,500
  • Knew if he was going to get a chance at a genre picture, he’d have to show he could do it on his own. This is a calling card for a chance at making the next Mortal Kombat feature film and it’s his vision for how he’d do it.
  • No one at any studio knew he was doing the short
  • Oren Uziel wrote the short. He’s currently listed on IMDb to write the next Mortal Kombat movie at Warner Bros.
  • Says he wants to make a movie that balances the real world with the mysticism and the special powers. Compares it to the way Harry Potter exists in two worlds. As in there are two universes that coexist with each other.
  • Confirms “fatalities” are definitely in his movie. He wants to put them in the tournament in an “organic way”
  • Definitely would use “get over here” (the classic line from the game)
  • Michael Jai White plays Jax Briggs in the short and he’d definitely be a part of the feature.
  • Says Scorpion is the bad guy and will stay a bad guy
  • They only had 4 hours to shoot the big fight scene

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