It's been three months since Mortal Kombat premiered in theatres and on HBO Max. The highly-anticipated adaptation of the violent video game franchise performed better than expected at the box office, especially after how hard the movie theatre industry was affected by the pandemic. The future of the franchise is uncertain, but for now, Warner Bros. has released this 20-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that gives fans a detailed look at the making of the film.
The video features members of the Mortal Kombat cast and crew, including lead actor Lewis Tan and director Simon McQuiod, as they discuss what makes the video game franchise so special, in addition to giving fans a tour behind the scenes. The video opens with Tan playing the classic arcade game against his fellow co-star Matilda Kimber.
We then get an interview clip of screenwriter Greg Russo as he talks about how Warner Bros. was surprised by just how much he knew about the video game franchise. Other members of the cast, including, Mehcad Brooks, Joe Taslim, Jessica McNamee, and Ludi Lin, share their early experiences playing the game when they were kids. Brooks, who plays cyborg Jax in Mortal Kombat, even says he dressed up as the character Scorpion for Halloween one year. From there, Russo and McQuiod talk about the difficulties of adapting the beloved Mortal Kombat franchise and their desire to elevate the story while also making something that was satisfying for the fans.
We then get an exclusive look at the costume department, where costume designer Cappi Ireland explains their desire to emphasize the armor and real fabrics worn by the characters, and how they wanted to avoid anything too, as she describes it, "superheroey." Supervising Location Manager Jacob McIntyre breaks down the different locations used to create the world of Mortal Kombat, while VFX supervisor Chris Godfrey explains how they brought classic characters like Reptile and Goro to life using state-of-the-art visual effects. Lastly, we get to see how the crew, including special effects supervisor Peter Stubbs, managed to blend digital and practical effects together to elevate the brutal fighting styles and abilities of these characters, including the complex giant ice gun used to create Sub-Zero's powers.Â
While the future of the Mortal Kombat film franchise is uncertain at this time, it's always nice to be reminded of how much work and talent goes into these movies. Several cast members, as well as McQuoid and Russo, have expressed interest in returning for a sequel, especially so they can introduce other fan-favorite characters like Johnny Cage, who was absent from the 2021 film.
Martial artist and actor Scott Adkins has even expressed interest in playing the part of Cage. Nothing has been announced at the moment, but hopefully, we can see more impressive work from this talented cast and crew.
You can rent/buy Mortal Kombat on digital and on Blu-ray now.