Fans of Mortal Kombat have a little bit more to get excited for, as the anticipated film reboot has commenced filming.The confirmation comes from Greg Russo, who posted about the start of filming on Twitter. Russo is making his screenwriting debut on the film, though he is also the writer on the upcoming Resident Evil film reboot.“May the Elder Gods watch over us!†Russo excitedly tweets with the hashtag #ITHASBEGUN, referencing Shang Tsung’s iconic line. The tweet includes a picture of a film clapper containing the iconic Mortal Kombat dragon logo. The logo itself appears to be based on the 1995 film’s design rather than one used by the game franchise.
The reboot, produced by James Wan of Aquaman and The Conjuring franchise, has been quietly building steam. While many fans felt it may eventually vanish as previous attempts had done, the reboot continues to surprise with a full cast announcement including Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl, True Blood) as Jax and Hiroyuki Sanada (Avengers: Endgame, The Wolverine) as Scorpion.
Mortal Kombat’s expansion into other media has been troubled since the beginning. 1995’s Mortal Kombat was a massive hit but a rushed sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, failed at the box office. A planned third film saw shooting postponed by Hurricane Katrina until it was ultimately canceled. While a sequel or reboot would occasionally surface as in production, it had proven difficult to get a film moving until Wan’s involvement.
Produced by James Wan, featuring the directorial debut of Simon McQuoid and starring Ludi Lin, Chin Han, Jessica McNamee, Hiroyuki Sanada, Joe Taslim, Mehcad Brooks, Josh Lawson, Sisi Stringer, and Tadanobu Asano, Mortal Kombat is expected to be in theaters March 5, 2021.