Mortal Kombat (2021 film)

Mortal Kombat
A masked face with a blade held in front, one side of the face is orange, the other blue.
Release poster
Directed bySimon McQuoid
Screenplay by
Story by
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGermain McMicking
Edited by
Music byBenjamin Wallfisch
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • April 8, 2021 (2021-04-08) (international)
  • April 23, 2021 (2021-04-23) (United States)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$55 million[1]
Box office$84.4 million[2][3]

Mortal Kombat is a 2021 American martial arts fantasy film co-produced and directed by Simon McQuoid, in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham, based on the video game series created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The film serves as a reboot of the Mortal Kombat film series and is the third film in the franchise.[4] It stars Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Tadanobu Asano, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Max Huang, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada.[5] The film follows Cole Young, a washed-up mixed martial arts fighter who is unaware of his hidden lineage or why the assassin Sub-Zero is hunting him down. Concerned for the safety of his family, he seeks out a clique of fighters that were chosen to defend Earthrealm against Outworld.

Following the critical and commercial failure of Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997), a third Mortal Kombat film languished in development hell for a period of nearly two decades. In late 2010, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema began developing a new film, with Kevin Tancharoen serving as director from a script written by Oren Uziel in the wake of their short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth (2010). James Wan was announced as a producer in August 2015 and McQuoid was hired as director in November 2016. Production took place at Adelaide Studios in Adelaide and at other locations in South Australia.[6] Principal photography occurred from September to December 2019.

Mortal Kombat was released internationally on April 8, 2021, and in the United States on April 23, simultaneously in theaters in Dolby Cinema, IMAX, and 4DX formats and on the streaming service HBO Max. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances, production values, action sequences, and greater faithfulness to the source material than the previous films, but criticized its screenplay, dialogue, and exposition.[7] The film grossed over $84 million against a $55 million production budget and became HBO Max's most-successful film launch to date.

A sequel, Mortal Kombat 2, is scheduled to be released in October 24, 2025,[8] with Jeremy Slater set to write the screenplay and McQuoid returning as director.[9][10]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lang-April21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Mortal Kombat (2021)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "Mortal Kombat (2021)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  4. ^ "'Mortal Kombat' Summary & Ending, Explained - Fails To Compete With Its Animated Version | DMT". Digital Mafia Talkies. April 26, 2021. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "Mortal Kombat (Reboot) – WGA Directory". findawriter.wgaeast.org. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  6. ^ "'Finish him: Mortal Kombat post-production work to be centred in Adelaide'". The Lead South Australia. January 24, 2020. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  7. ^ "Mortal Kombat (2021) Review Roundup: What Do The Critics Think?". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  8. ^ Kit, Borys (May 25, 2023). "Adeline Rudolph to Play Kitana in New Line's 'Mortal Kombat 2' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023. Adeline Rudolph, who made her debut as part of Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, has joined Tati Gabrielle, her co-star on the Netflix series, in New Line's spine-severing sequel to 2021's Mortal Kombat. Simon McQuoid, who directed the previous movie based on the video game franchise, is back behind the console for the new feature, which sees Karl Urban leading the ensemble and diverse cast.
  9. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 26, 2022). "New Line Moving Forward With 'Mortal Kombat' Sequel; 'Moon Knight' Scribe Jeremy Slater Scripting". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  10. ^ Kroll, Justin (July 20, 2022). "'Mortal Kombat' Sequel Moving Forward At New Line As Simon McQuoid Returns As Director". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.