Mortal kombat trailer
Photo Credit: HBO Max
The Trailer for the New 'Mortal Kombat' Movie Has All the Gore You Expect
The new Mortal Kombat movie will be released on HBO Max on April 16th.
One of the most iconic video game franchises will get another crack at a movie.
The first trailer for Mortal Kombat has been released. And, man, does it stay true to the video game's gory origins. The movie, which is rated R, features plenty of blood and gore for fans of the franchise. Originally released in arcades in 1992, Mortal Kobat was a fighting video game famous for "fatalities;" after a match was over, the winning character would have the opportunity to kill their foe in a bloody, grotesque way. (If this concept is confusing, here is a video that will help you out.)
The trailer features a number of iconic characters from the game, from Sub Zero to Scorpion to Sonja Blade to Shang Tsung. But, more importantly, the trailer features, a glimpse of iconic fatalities from the video game, including Lui Kang's dragon transformation and Kano's heart-snatch move. (You also see a glimpse of Sub Zero freezing and destroying Jax's arms.)
There have many two other Mortal Kombat movies. Both — Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation — were released in the mid-'90s. Both were rated pg-13 and were significantly less violent than the video game. (Mortal Kombat is now considered a cult classic, while Annihilation is an abomination.)
Director Simon McQuoid recently spoke to IGN about his Mortal Kombat movie and the new R-rated direction it's going. McQuoid told the publication:
“The Fatalities were always in from the get-go, there was never any question from anyone at all. There was no resistance from the studio. They wanted them, I wanted them... There's a fatality from Kano, he ripped someone's heart out. But what was important to me was that even when the Fatalities arrived, we couldn't just do a Fatality and have it mean nothing. ... It actually becomes an important ingredient in the rhythm of the action scene.”
As far as the video game, Mortal Kombat is still kicking. There have been 18 Mortal Kombat video games, with the latest being Mortal Kombat 11, which was released in 2019. (That game features a very weird Jax slave story.)
Mortal Kombat will be available to stream on HBO Max on April 16th. Check out the first trailer below.
