The rules around ratings aren’t what a lot of people think they are,” he explained. “It’s amount of blood, it’s amount of red, it’s interpretation of how you go about it. We had a lot of discussions about getting the balance right so there was gore and there was blood and there were fatalities. And there is gore, blood, and fatalities.”
Let’s face it; if you’re a fan of Mortal Kombat, the iconic fighting video game known for its extreme violence, this is exactly what you want to hear from director Simon McQuoid about the upcoming movie reboot. Anything less and the cry “FINISH HIM!!” might be for you!
Our first look at the new Mortal Kombat has been revealed by EW, and no, this isn’t anything like the PG-13 hit film from 1995. According to star Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays the spear-throwing ninja Scorpion (“Get over here!!”), the film is “like a family drama with excitingly brutal fighting.”
The Mortal Kombat storyline begins with a secret underground tournament, whose outcome could decide the fate of the world. The game franchise expands on that greatly, adding universal threats and new fighters into the mix. After the 1995 movie proved to be a surprising success, the sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was a dud in 1997. Warner Bros. attempted to launch a third film for years, before moving ahead on a reboot with James Wan as producer and McQuoid directing.
The cast includes Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, The Raid‘s Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, and Chin Han as Shang Tsung.
Mortal Kombat opens in theaters and HBO Max on April 16th.
