The anniversary of Mortal Kombat is just around the corner, with August 18 marking 25 years since its release. The film is based on the popular '90s arcade game Mortal Kombat and is often considered the film that broke the "video game curse."

At this time, movies based on video games were almost always critical and financial failures. Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter, and Double Dragon were hopeless embarrassments, but Mortal Kombat was the exception. It hit No. 1 at the box office, grossing $122 million worldwide. On top of its box office success, it was also one of the first video game adaptations to be embraced by fans.

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The film follows a group of martial arts experts: the former Shaolin monk Liu Kang, the actor Johnny Cage and the special ops officer Sonya Blade. Together they are guided by Raiden (spelled Rayden in the movie), the God of Lightning and Protector of the Earthrealm, who is about as helpful as Glenda in The Wizard of Oz, on their journey to combat the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in the tournament Mortal Kombat to save the world.

Even with the later installments starring different actors, most people think of Christopher Lambert when they think of Raiden. He is the original, and for some, the only version. However, Lambert wasn't even the studio's first choice for the part. In the early stages of developing the film, they were throwing around names such as Danny Glover to take on the role, only to later develop a stronger interest in Sean Connery. This casting choice was likely intended as a way to bring in a wider audience as Connery was an established star well before Mortal Kombat went into development, being best known for playing 007 in the first five Bond films.

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In a collective interview with The Hollywood Reporter celebrating Mortal Kombat's 20th anniversary in 2015, associate producer Lauri Apelian claimed the reason for Connery not taking the role being that he wanted more time to play golf. "We also inquired about Sean Connery for the Raiden role. But we understood at that time that he really wanted to golf. He wasn't interested at that time in doing a physical role," she explained.

The claim of not wanting a "physical role" can easily be dismissed because Raiden was not a physical role in the slightest. It was likely a secondary excuse Connery added after admitting he wanted to play golf because passing up on a role just for that reason might've looked silly at the time. There is a chance the script originally had more physical activities planned for the character, but a stunt double could have easily been used. It was more likely a time issue as Connery had two films released in 1995, meaning had he taken on Mortal Kombat he likely would have been jumping from production to production with minimal breaks. Regardless, it worked out for Lambert who ended up taking the role and becoming the ideal image for all later portrayals.

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