Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros, WB Animation | Tagged: David B. Mitchell, Ed boon, Jeremy Adams, joel mchale, Jordan Rodrigues, Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, mortal kombat legends: scorpion's revenge, rick morales

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms virtual CC@Home panel

Today at the Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms virtual CC@Home panel Warner Brothers Home Entertainment celebrated the exhilarating sequel to the 2020 hit Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge with an equally thrilling and hilarious panel featuring the cast and filmmakers of the soon to be released action-packed continuation of the Mortal Kombat saga.

 Moderator Joshua Gray, the producer and host of Mortal Kombat Events & Professional Tournaments since 2015, starts by introducing the all-star panel headlined by Joel McHale (Community, Stargirl), as the voice of Hollywood star-turned-fighter Johnny Cage, and included Jordan Rodrigues (Lady Bird, The Fosters) as Liu Kang; Dave B. Mitchell (Mortal Kombat 11, Call of Duty franchise) as Raiden, Kintaro & Sektor; screenwriter Jeremy Adams (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II) as well as producer Rick Morales (Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, Batman vs. Two-Face); and game co-creator Ed Boon (NetherRealm Studios), who serves the films as the Creative Consultant.

Joshua teed off the laugh-filled CC@Home panel by asking producer Rick Morales how he planned to top the original Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge. 

The Mortal Kombat games have been topping themselves throughout their history.  So we just sort of key into that and just kind of go with it. Just unleashing the artists to kind of do what they think is fun and grotesque.

Writer extraordinaire Jeremy Adams discussed the quiet strength and philosophy of Raiden and what inspired the tired warrior spirit that is taking a chance on peace:

In the context of our story, you have Shao Kahn that is like, 'Okay. I didn't win the tournament, so now I'm just gonna, you know, nuke this world, and then eventually I'll be able to win the tournament by ruling the world.' I guess, over many centuries, I think Raiden makes that calculated risk. Because he is this guardian and, to me, he's this person that actually- the dimension that we wanted to explore is that he actually cares about Earth and Earth Realm. So he doesn't just go, "Yeah. We'll make this deal. I'm also going to strip a part of myself so that I can try to assure this thing is going to happen. So it's a sacrifice. A.- because he's willing to put his money where his mouth is. It's not just like- 'Hey, I'm going to sit back, you guys do what you need to do. I'm going to put some skin in the game as well. I'm going to come down, and I'm going to help in this kind of final winner take all battle.' But I also think he has not just that sacrifice but also faith in the people that he's picked.

Comedy heartthrob perfectly cast as the voice of smart-mouthed Johnny Cage, Joel McHale discussed his character's romantic backstory.

 It was just such a well-told (romantic story); you could separate that thing and make it, you know, and give it to I don't know Matthew McConaughey. He could turn it into a romantic comedy. I was just so pleased by- because you could make this super violent movie in the super-stylized movie which it is. It's beautiful. But without a well-told story, it would probably be not great. The story is really solid, and it's got multiple layers, and that can't ask for more out of a movie script. 

He later continued… I always go the model of if somebody had never heard of Mortal Kombat, and never played the game, and was under some rock for the last 30 years- would they enjoy a movie like this? I look at that; it goes back to the story. If you didn't know Raiden, if you didn't know Liu Kang, you know any of those things, would you just dial into the mythology? And I think the story is what drives that, and I think it does unless you know people have a problem with a lot of stabbing and blood.

The voice of Raiden, Dave B. Mitchell, added:

Well, I think the beauty of that too is that I feel like it absolutely does service to existing fans, but it also has an appeal for new fans. Because it does bring you everything you need to say, look, this is a brand new idea… So as a longtime fan, it appeals to me, but I think the great thing is, like he (Joel) was saying, you can introduce this to a whole new audience that knows nothing about it, and they're sucked in. Because it's got all the elements that you need to say, wow, this is a really cool thing.

Liu Kang is at the heart of the action-packed sequel. Jordan Rodriguez revealed what it is like to come back and voice the role:

I mentioned in the first interview for the first film I got a lot of inspiration from Bruce Lee. I sort of brought that into the booth. As I said, you kind of have to get very physical in there, to the point where you're actually breaking a sweat a little bit …you know he (Liu Kang) goes sort of into the higher pitch when he's leveling up. In a sense, when he goes kind of, I don't know if I could say this but, "Super Saiyan" and kind of goes crazy. That was kind of the direction they wanted. I just watched it last night, and it really  translates into the internal frustration that he's going through. Internalizing all that pressure that's sort of been put on him and his kind of self-doubt within his role. And to see it come to manifest into what happens at the end of this film is just really cool.

Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon shares his blessing with fans watching CC@Home.

Yeah, I thought it was a little tame, yeah. No, it's fantastic. We've been fortunate enough. Actually, you know, we've seen Mortal Kombat in comic books, and there's been a whole bunch of spin-offs. This one I'm particularly proud of. There's just a part of what I call, like, the identity of Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat does a lot of things, you know, ridiculously over the top. Obviously, the violence is there but on top of that is, as everybody was saying, there is the foundation of a story in there, and there are memorable characters. I really feel these characters have become, you know, similar to a DC universe or a Marvel universe. There's an entire kind of category of these characters that we can introduce new ones, but those that have also been represented in a whole bunch of different formats.

Red band trailer may be inappropriate for some viewers,

LAST WARNING:

Once again, the fate of the universe hangs in the balance as the greatest warriors known to man face off for one final battle in Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms. Picking up shortly after the thrilling conclusion of last year's hit Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge, in which Raiden and his team of warriors agree to compete in a final Mortal Kombat that will determine the fate of the realms.

Watch the full panel below:

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms stars Joel McHale (Community, Stargirl), Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight), Jordan Rodrigues (Lady Bird, The Fosters), Patrick Seitz (Mortal Kombat X, Aggretsuko, Naruto: Shippuden), Artt Butler (Her, Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Robin Atkin Downes (The Strain, Batman: The Killing Joke), Dave B. Mitchell (Mortal Kombat 11, Call of Duty franchise), Ikè Amadi (Mass Effect 3, Mortal Kombat 11), Grey Griffin (The Loud House, Young Justice), and Fred Tatasciore (Robot Chicken, Family Guy). Matthew Mercer (Critical Role, Justice Society: World War II), Bayardo De Murguia (Tiny Pretty Things), Matt Yang King (Mortal Kombat 11 video game, Justice League vs. The Fatal Five), Paul Nakauchi (Carmen San Diego, Overwatch), Emily O'Brien (Days of Our Lives, Constantine: City of Demons), Debra Wilson (World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, MADtv).

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms is directed by Ethan Spaulding (Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge, Batman: Assault on Arkham) from a script by Jeremy Adams (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II) and based on the videogame created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. It is Produced by Rick Morales (Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, Batman vs. Two-Face) and Jim Krieg (Batman: Gotham by Gaslight). The Executive Producer is Sam Register. Ed Boon (NetherRealm Studios) is a Creative Consultant.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, an all-new, feature-length film produced by Warner Bros. Animation in coordination with NetherRealm Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The film arrives from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Digital, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack on August 31, 2021.

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