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Mortal Kombat Writer Says New Film is Intended to Introduce a Trilogy

Published Tue, 20 Apr 2021 11:59:09 -0500

We're just under a week away from the new Mortal Kombat film hitting theaters and HBO Max, and there's a lot of hype for the new adaptation of the popular video game franchise.

The first game that spawned the Mortal Kombat universe came in 1992, which eventually led to 18 releases (including re-releases and various formats) and two live-action films in 1995, and a sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation in 1997. At the time of release, the films were mostly planned by moviegoers and critics both but have since been praised for their more faithful take on the video game source material. Even though the games are widely recognized, it has taken over two decades for Mortal Kombat to make its cinematic return, and there's certainly a desire for more from those involved.

Mortal Kombat Director On Adapting Interactive Storytelling to Movies — Copyright: © 2021 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo Credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures. Caption: HIROYUKI SANADA as Scorpion/Hanzo Hasashi in New Line Cinema's action adventure "Mortal Kombat," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

In a recent interview over at CBR, the new film's screenwriter Greg Russo talked about plans for more Mortal Kombat, detailing aspirations for a trilogy. Russo explains, "When I wrote it, I conceived it as a trilogy; I didn't even tell the people I was working with I was doing it as a trilogy. Just as a writer, you never want to paint yourself into a corner or shutdown where your storyline could go. When I was writing the first film, I was always, in the back of my mind, outlining two more so I always knew where things could go."

Russon goes on to elaborate, "I would love to come back and explore, there's just so much of the mythology that we didn't have the time to get into [but] two hours is the right length for a first film. But there's more; there's the Shaolin monks, there's the special forces, there's all these spinoffs that you could see."

Like anything in Hollywood, there are two needs to keep a story continuing, and that's a profit and interest. With Mortal Kombat, the interest will likely always be there, so now we just wait and see if the box office and streaming numbers are on par with WB's hopes for the film.

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