New details continue to emerge as the 2021 Mortal Kombat feature film begins production on location in South Australia. A press release for Day 1 filming has also revealed the identity of the actor playing Kung Lao!

Chinese actor and stunt performer Max Huang is credited in the press release with the role of Kung Lao. A member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team; the soon-to-be 32 year old has performed stunts in various major international releases, including: Kingsman: The Secret Service, Police Story: Lockdown, Dragon Blade, and The Foreigner. He can be seen wearing traditional martial arts dress in photos below:

Kung Lao was a notable omission from previous theatrical adaptations of the Mortal Kombat story. Mark Dacascos appeared as the hat-wearing Shaolin monk in the second season of live-action webseries Mortal Kombat: Legacy. In 1998, Paolo Montalban starred as the ancient Mortal Kombat champon "Great" Kung Lao on the broadcast television series Mortal Kombat: Conquest.

The press release does not specify if the ancestral Kung Lao is relevant to the film. It does, however, confirm Jessica McNamara as Sonya, with Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Tadabobu Asano as Raiden, and Lewis Tan in a still unspecified role.

Other production staff mentioned in the press release include: Director of Photography Germain McMicking (True Detective), Production Designer Naaman Marshall, Editor Scott Gray, and Costumer Designer Cappi Ireland. First time feature director Simon McQuoid is steering the ship, with James Wan and Todd Garner producing. Larry Kasanoff, E. Bennett Walsh, Michael Clear and Jeremy Stein serve as executive producers.

What do you think of Max Huang as Kung Lao? Share your reactions and speculation in the comments below! Then dive into the Media & Merchandise forum for more news and discussion! Special thanks to MK Online kommunity user gorostilllives for posting about this story.