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This month, EW offers exclusive looks at more than two dozen of the most anticipated films of 2021. Check out more of our preview here.
When you think about Mortal combat, you think of blood. Buckets. That kind of horrible splash that comes from “kali ma shakti of” -ing an opponent in a savage fight to the death. But blood, as director Simon McQuoid thought for the upcoming video game-inspired film reboot, has many meanings. “Blood is family,” he tells EW. “The blood represents a connection. The blood represents who we are. Without getting too complicated, what we have done is use the blood in an enforceable manner.” And it starts to flow right off the bat.
If this new approach Mortal combat, revealed in the first exclusive photos of EW, is a “universe of blood,” and then McQuoid says the kunai blade is at its center. This is the signature weapon of fan favorite game character Hanzo Hasashi, aka Scorpion, played by Logan and The Twilight Samurai star Hiroyuki Sanada. “We did a bit of research and the kunai is actually an ancient Japanese gardening tool,” says the manager. “So one of the first shots in the film is the kunai blade used as a gardening tool by Hanzo’s wife.”
Mortal combat, produced by Todd Garner and Aquaman‘s James Wan, begins with a crucial part of the lore of the original games: the blood feud between the Hanzo and Bi-Han clanswarriorJoe Taslim). The 10-minute opening sequence kicks off in feudal Japan, long before these fighters used supernatural abilities like Scorpion and Sub-Zero, and ends with “some pretty nasty melee combat” between the two, McQuoid said. This is why the filmmaker for the first time chose Sanada and Taslim, two actors known for their prowess in martial arts. “[Hanzo’s] the leader of a ninja clan and he’s strong, but also… at first he’s a peaceful family man, “Sanada says.” It’s like a family drama with extremely brutal fights. This is the image of this film for me, ”he adds.
Bi-Han and Hanzo’s story “had to be told in combat,” McQuoid says. “There are some great camera movements to give it a little bit of vibrancy, which makes it really enjoyable. We needed it to be really basic and really brutal. It’s not a brilliant film… I wanted the dirt and grime shines through. “
This brutality continues into the present, where we meet Cole Young, a brand new character from the Mortal combat world played by actor and martial artist Lewis Tan (Wu Assassins, In the badlands), someone who prides themselves on performing their own stunts despite the aches and pains that come with training.
“When we first meet Cole, he’s in a really bad position,” says Tan. “He’s out of luck. He’s kind of a failed MMA fighter who was a champion, who believed in himself, who had a lot of hope in his career. And it all fell apart. It’s a very interesting place for a hero to start, and I think throughout the journey of Mortal combat and Cole finding out where he’s from, you’re introduced to all those other iconic characters and elements that everyone loves so much. “
Cole knows nothing of his heritage other than the mysterious birthmark on his chest – in the form of the Mortal Kombat symbol. Tan remains silent about how this birthmark connects to the character’s origins, but agrees that “it’s a unique symbol” that “will eventually tie into the journey he’s on.” This remains the only clue Cole has when the sinister wizard and emperor of the Outerworld realm, Shang Tsung (Skyscraper‘s Chin Han), sends Sub-Zero, now with his cryomancy powers, to hunt him down.
Major Jackson “Jax” Briggs (Super girl‘s Mehcad Brooks), a special forces major who bears the same brand as Cole, urges him to search for Sonya Blade (The MegJessica McNamee). She transports him to the next leg of the journey, to the thunderous Elder God known as Lord Raiden (Thor‘s Tadanobu Asano), who grants the sanctuary in his temple to all who have the mark. There, Cole meets even more recognizable characters from the Mortal combat games – Liu Kang (Power rangers‘Ludi Lin), Kung Lao (actor and stuntman Max Huang) and Kano (Hypermarket‘s Josh Lawson) – as they all train for a high-stakes tournament to defeat the invading enemies of Outerworld.
Tan is familiar with the idea of inheritance. His father, Philip Tan, a national champion martial artist, began his film career on Tim Burton’s Batman and he progressed to fight the choreographer, the stunt coordinator and the second unit director. Tan has fond memories of rolling around stunt rugs on movie sets as a child. Mortal combat now marks the actor’s first leading role in a high-profile studio feature film that launched his father’s career. Tan also carries the legacy of the original games.
“I’ve been playing the game since I was a kid,” he says. “For lack of a better way to describe it, you don’t want to spoil it because it’s so iconic. You want to bring something new to the table that people have never seen before, but at the same time, truly respect and pay homage to these legendary worlds already created. ”
Cole is definitely something fans have never seen before. While many players may call the unique fighting moves by familiar names, like Mileena’s Daggers (played by actress Sisi Stringer), Tan used his own experience to develop a new style for Cole. He pulled out of UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal for that “grain of salt of the earth”, while also drawing on muay Thai (aka Thai kickboxing), judo, jujitsu and “MMA roots”.
“I wanted to make sure that everyone respected the material, the tradition of Mortal combat, the fans and the love they have for it. Everyone was clear on that, ”McQuoid says of the reboot. Respect for the material also meant addressing what Mortal combat so popular after all these years. Blood has a lot to do with it.
As a joke, McQuoid told stunt coordinator Kyle Gardiner to create “the best fight sequences ever made in a movie.” In fact, these action pieces are some of the top-rated pieces of the movie to come out of the first test screenings, according to McQuoid and Tan. “We have to be smart in the way we operate [the fights], “director notes,” and there are times you’ll see when you see the movie, when it’s right, ‘F — it! Let’s have fun. ‘”
McQuoid is still editing the film, but he already knows that “it’s definitely not going to be rated PG-13”.
“Out of context, this quote might sound inflammatory, it isn’t: the rules for grades aren’t what a lot of people think they are,” he says. “It’s the amount of blood, it’s the amount of red, it’s the interpretation of how you go about it. We had a lot of talk about finding the right balance, so there was blood. and there was blood and there were deaths. ” He stops to repeat what he just said. “And there East blood, blood and death. ”
Fatalities, as in the dramatic finishing moves of games which often involve cutting someone completely in half or tearing someone’s spine out, will be achieved for the first time in a Mortal combat movie. “There are crazy deaths,” confirms Tan. “We picked a few iconic ones. There’s a lot of really cool signature moves that you’ll see, a lot of Easter eggs that we slipped into the movie, but there are some really tough deaths that I have. can’t wait. to see on the big screen. They’re brutal, man. They, they don’t hold back. “At the same time, McQuoid” didn’t want to enter NC-17 territory. ” He notes: “It’s amazing how quickly you can get there. It doesn’t take a lot.” At least not for one Mortal combat movie.
The film is slated for a simultaneous release in theaters and on HBO Max on April 16.
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