Fans have waited eagerly for a new live-action Mortal Kombat movie, but if an unverified report by pop culture site Revenge of The Fan is to be believed, animation may be the next narrative destination for the series.
The site, which recently correctly broke news of DC Entertainment features based on Batman: The Long Halloween and Superman: Red Son, alleges Warner Bros animation has cast actors for an upcoming Mortal Kombat feature, which may be released as a two-part adventure.
Rumored voice talent includes: Joel McHale (Community) and Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter), known for their live-action roles in television and film, with well known voice acting regulars like Fred Tatasciore (Voltron), Grey Griffin (Young Justice), Darin DePaul (Justice League Action), and Robin Atkin (Voltron), also attached in unknown roles.
Fans will also note the inclusion of familiar Mortal Kombat voices in the cast list: Patrick Seitz and Steve Blum voiced Scorpion and Sub-Zero respectively as recently as Mortal Kombat X. The voice of Kevin Michael Richardson could be heard in the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie as Goro.
Speculation from RTF and fans has naturally gravitated toward Carpenter and McHale assuming types as the voices of Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage. No story details are rumored in the report, but with word there will be no tie-in comics for Mortal Kombat 11, it may be speculated the animated film bridges the gap from Mortal Kombat X to the new game, released April this year.
While it must be stressed this report addresses unsubstantiated rumor; an apparent upturn in production of animated features by Warner Brothers coincides with the recent launch of the DC Universe streaming service, and reported forecast of a new WarnerMedia platform, as well.
Mortal Kombat has gone animated before: In 2016, John Tobias unearthed a hand-painted character cel from the short-lived Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm cartoon. Warner Brothers also included the dubious stand-alone animated feature The Journey Begins with their blu-ray movie release.
Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias recently unearthed a treasure from the series' past: A hand painted cel sheet from the animated series - Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm!
Superhero summer blockbusters and licensed sequels have rewritten the box office rulebook for Hollywood in the 2010s. These days you're nothing if you aren't striving for a total media blitz, building a multi-pronged franchise "universe" across spin-offs and tie-ins. Marvel's Avengers has become the multimedia benchmark, extending its Disney-owned tendrils across multiple major movies, an on-going television series, several upcoming Netflix original series, and various other projects. It's the model everyone now aspires to - but did you know Mortal Kombat actually kinda did it already in the nineties?
The announcement of the first-ever Region 2 DVD release of Mortal Kombat: Conquest - The Complete Series has stirred a massive amount of interest within the fan kommunity. As well it should! Conquest isn't just a time-locked series that's only been available in its entirety to digital pirates, Australians [via a 2005 Region 4 release], and devotees of late night reruns. It's a unique piece of Kombat franchise history, and a rare example of a video game license thriving in a film environment.
Whether you're new to Conquest and the world created by Larry Kassanoff and his Threshold Entertainment Group, or simply revisiting, we hope you'll join us as we look back at what we generously consider the Mortal Kombat Cinematic Universe. Here's the rundown:
Mortal Kombat: Legacy may be well on its way to attracting a following of millions, but the digital success of the first three episodes hasn't stopped Kevin Tancharoen playing directly to the online diehard fans!
In his latest Twitter teaser, the director shows off a toothy preview of Jolene Tran's yet to debut Mileena. Trailer footage has already shown off the famous fighting feud between Shao Kahn's adopted pseudo-siblings, Mileena and Kitana.
@KTANCH's accompanying message, "What's wrong young Mileena?," suggests the image has flashback significance, but for a character who was partially cloned in the canon of the games [see; character vignette], that suggests little in the way of a certain timeline. It is also uncertain if this indicates an animated flashback sequence, episode, or storyboards.
What is certain is the presence of some nasty teeth, a trademark of the character that will delight fans. Eagle-eyed viewers will have already noticed glimpses of an extended mouth in the trailer, appearing opposite Sam Tjhia as Kitana. A previous teaser showed off their martial arts prowess.
"We're thrilled to add this property to the iTunes lineup," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "The Mortal Kombat films, while available for the iPod and AppleTV, have never looked better than they do on the iPad."
"Besides the movies, we have also made available the films' accompanying soundtracks, the two TV shows [MK: Conquest and MK: Defenders of the Realm], the straight-to-video release [MK: The Journey Begins], the online-exclusive fights [MK: Federation of Martial Arts], and for the first time ever on video - the Mortal Kombat Live Tour!" explains Martin Tremblay, president of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "We've also had some success on iTunes with digital comics books on some of our DC properties such as Superman: Red Son, and so we will be adding the Mortal Kombat comics later on in the year, as well."
