“It’s really fun so far. We’re about halfway through the script,” Slater told The Direct (opens in new tab). “I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys.”

While Slater was reluctant to reveal anything about the Mortal Kombat 2 story, it’s going to address any potential concerns fans may have had – and is taking feedback onboard.

“I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped,’ Slater said. “So we’re really looking at this as a chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.”

Mortal Kombat was a notable success for the fledgling HBO Max service, garnering over 3.8 million viewers in its first weekend alone, per Samba (H/T Deadline (opens in new tab)). Despite that, some fans still had a bone to pick with the movie, most notably its lack of a fighting tournament – a staple of the video game franchise.

No release date yet for Mortal Kombat 2, though – judging by Slater’s words – a director is attached.

Discover some of the biggest console-to-cinema success stories with our ranking of the best video game movies ever made.

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The prolific Mortal Kombat series’ undeniable mascot is the undead ninja Scorpion, and his long-reaching Spear move – and its accompanying catchphrase – is one of the most iconic moments in gaming. And now, thanks to a two-minute clip shared by series creator Ed Boon to celebrate Mortal Kombat’s upcoming 30th anniversary, we get to see how it came to life. Check it out:

Mortal Kombat will be 30 years old in 2022. But 2021 marks 30 years since we actually BEGAN working on the game. To celebrate, it seemed like a fun idea to share some behind-the-scenes stuff. This clip shows how we created Scorpion’s iconic (GET OVER HERE!) spear move. (1 of 9) pic.twitter.com/3f1tdvjG9ROctober 12, 2021

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In a reply thread, Boon gives some useful context as to what’s being discussed in the above video, which includes a conversation between Boon and co-creator John Tobias. At one point, you can clearly hear Boon ask rhetorically, “You know what would be a cool ass move?”, and it’s just really cool to witness the very germ of what would eventually become such A Thing. 

You even get to see the moment Boon and Tobias decide to give the move its pullback effect that almost always leads the attacker into an uppercut. Boon further explains that the performing actor needed to keep their movements simple so as to minimize frames for 1991 hardware constraints, and you can see Boon and Tobias ask the actor to reposition the spear throw to chest height so that ducking opponents could dodge it.

As we inch closer to Mortal Kombat’s big birthday next year, Boon says he’s hoping to release more “fly on the wall” videos from the series’ history, and like, yes. Please do.

Here’s what we think are the best fighting games to play right now.

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Speaking at a roundtable attended by GamesRadar+, producer Todd Garner revealed how Mortal Kombat will mesh its colorful cast of characters together, as well as sprinkling in the mythology and world-building that will resonate so much with long-term fans, comparing his approach to the Lord of the Rings movies.

“When we really researched all of the lore and fantasy and rules and mythology to Mortal Kombat, we really looked at it like Lord of the Rings,” Garner says.

“[Creators] John [Tobias] and Ed [Boon] have created this tone that’s so thick and complex and amazing in terms of all the crazy, different characters – you have ninjas, and you have soldiers of fortune, and you’ve got clones and aliens and ex-police officers. There’s so many different characters. The challenge, then, is: how do you bring them all together? “

The team, which includes producer James Wan and director Simon McQuoid, looked at “the way that [the] Lord of the Rings [movie] did it.” For them, making small cuts and changes was all in service of keeping the overall spirit of the franchise intact.

“In a novel, you know, when you have 1,000 pages, and you have to distill it down into two hours, you have to make choices, and you have to be smart about the essence of what is happening,” Garner continues. “And so when we set out to make the movie, and to start developing it, that’s how we began – it’s being as respectful to the canon and to the rules and to the mythology as with a novel.”

Don’t expect Gollum to throwdown with Raiden anytime soon – but if Mortal Kombat can ape Peter Jackson’s legendary trilogy, we could one day be looking at Earthrealm’s champions becoming bigger names than any of us thought possible.

Mortal Kombat will release on HBO Max and in theaters in the US on April 16 and is coming soon in the UK. If you don’t have HBO Max, make sure to check out the best HBO Max prices.

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I’ve always liked Rain – the purple outfit is a nice, rarely used color for male fighting game characters (or male characters in general) and again, his moves are so weird and confounding that they make every match a constant guessing game. Also, this character has forever infiltrated my mind when it comes to songs about precipitation. Seriously, every one of these is 100% better if you think about Rain the entire time.

Hot on the heels of theKenshiandSkarletDLC releases, NetherRealm is now unleashing Rain, a purple-clad ninja who uses lightning, water and teleportation to confuse opponents. As you’ll see in the trailer, his moves are highly unorthadox; the water ball lets you trap and then physically move the other fighter, and his high kick actually sends opponents flying off one side of the screen and back in through the other in a very “around the world” kind of way. Longtime fans probably remember him from Ultimate MK3 or MK Trilogy. As of July 19, he’s officially part of the new Kombat krew.

I’ve always liked Rain – the purple outfit is a nice, rarely used color for male fighting game characters (or male characters in general) and again, his moves are so weird and confounding that they make every match a constant guessing game. Also, this character has forever infiltrated my mind when it comes to songs about precipitation. Seriously, every one of these is 100% better if you think about Rain the entire time.

July 11, 2011

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