WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Mortal Kombat, now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
The live-action film reboot of Mortal Kombat features multiple nods to narrator-spoken lines from the popular fighting game franchise, such as "Kano wins," "Flawless victory" and, of course, "Fatality." However, according to screenwriter Greg Russo, one rather "toasty" reference to the Mortal Kombat video games ended up on the cutting room floor.
Mortal Kombat's "Toasty" Easter Egg was introduced in Mortal Kombat II, which originally released in arcades in 1993. In that game, when a player lands a particularly well-timed uppercut, an image of Mortal Kombat sound designer Dan Forden appears in the corner of the screen, at which point Forden loudly proclaims, "Toasty!". Since 1993, this Easter egg has become a staple of the franchise, most recently appearing in 2019's Mortal Kombat 11.
According to Russo, he managed to work "Toasty" into the script of the new Mortal Kombat film, but the scene in which the line is spoken was ultimately cut during post-production. "I worked really hard to get the line 'Toasty!' in there," the screenwriter said in an interview with Polygon. "It had a spot in the story that didn't feel cringe, like it worked, but it [was edited out]. Liu Kang said it, after somebody was eviscerated." Notably, it was also Liu Kang who dropped the line "Fatality" in the final cut of the film.
Russo's personal favorite Mortal Kombat fighter, Kitana, didn't make the cut either, as it "didn't make sense to start bringing in the Edenian characters yet." The screenwriter previously revealed that the popular video game character Johnny Cage had also been cut from the film as a result of Kano occupying the role of comic relief, though Mortal Kombat does strongly tease Cage's involvement in a potential sequel.
On that note, Russo recently told CBR that his Mortal Kombat vision called for a trilogy of films. He also explained to Polygon that ideas that didn't make their way into the first movie could appear in the sequels, provided they are greenlit. That being said, one element from the games Russo never really considered implementing in the films at all -- at least not intentionally -- is the "Babality," a joke finishing move introduced in Mortal Kombat II that allows the player to turn their opponent into an infant. "If you watch the opening movie, there was a baby in there," he said, "so maybe there was a Babality."
Directed by Simon McQuoid and produced by James Wan, Mortal Kombat stars Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson "Jax" Bridges, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, Max Huang as Kung Lao, Sisi Stringer as Mileena, Matilda Kimber as Emily Young and Laura Brent as Allison Young. The film is now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
Source: Polygon