Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid recently admitted it was composer Benjamin Wallfisch's score that convinced star Lewis Tan to join the film in the first place.
McQuoid spoke to Collider about the first time he met with Wallfisch, and explained that he walked in to their first meeting with a plan to convince the composer to join the project. However, the director soon realized that Wallfisch had already started working on the music -- and even played him a demo of the Mortal Kombat theme.
"And then when he played me this, I literally had sweat on my forehead," McQuoid recalled. "It was incredible. And so this piece of music allowed me to, when I started talking to prospective actors, it made my life so much easier."
The director revealed that having Wallfisch's score so early meant he didn't have to pitch prospective actors as aggressively, noting, "I just played this bit of music for them, and they knew exactly the movie we were making."
Tan, who plays lead character Cole Young in the film, has since agreed, "it was hearing the score that made me [join the movie]."
"Simon sold me on that," Tan recalled. "Because the score gave me an idea of where he was gonna take this, how tasteful it was gonna be done."
McQuiod also told the outlet that, from the beginning, he and Wallfisch were on the same page about making a film for the real Mortal Kombat fans. "The word I use a lot, one of the things we've been talking about all through development, is respect," McQuoid explained. "For the fans and respect for the characters and respect for the canon of the game."
In addition to composing the Mortal Kombat score, Wallfisch previously created original scores for Blade Runner 2049, Shazam!, It, It Chapter Two, The Invisible Man, Hidden Figures and A Cure For Wellness.
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 arrives in theaters and on HBO Max April 16.
Source: Collider