New Line Cinema and producer James Wan appear to be slowly making progress on the long-discussed reboot of the Mortal Kombat film franchise.

Variety reports that Simon McQuoid, an Australian director with extensive experience in TV commercials, is now in talks to helm the project. Although McQuoid isn't a name familiar to most movie fans, he's apparently hot property in the advertising industry, where he has produced work for a number of big brands, including PlayStation and Range Rover.

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Debuting in 1992, the "Mortal Kombat" video game franchise quickly gained notoriety for its violence and "Fatalities," in which players are able to unleash often-gory executions on defeated opponents. In 1995, it was adapted as moderately successful movie, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Christopher Lambert, which spawned the 1997 sequel “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation."

While there have been attempts to breathe new life into the non-video game areas of the franchise, including a 1998 television series, "Mortal Kombat: Konquest," and a 2011 web series, "Mortal Kombat: Legacy," none has been a breakout success.

Wan, director of the "Saw" and "Conjuring" franchises as well as the upcoming "Aquaman," said recently that he's in no hurry to move into production with the "Mortal Kombat" reboot, which has been in development since at least 2011.

“The key here is to try and do it right. I don’t want to rush into it," he said. "So right now, we’re just trying to take our time to make sure it’s heading in the right direction. I think that’s more important than trying to rush through it and pump up something that no one likes.”