Warner Premiere’s new digital new media series of Mortal Kombat is currently shooting in Vancouver. As the story goes, Kevin Tancharoen (director of Fame) directed a unofficial fan short called Mortal Kombat: Rebirth that become a huge hit for the gaming masses. It was such a surprise considering that gamers are never known to eat up anything with a name they’re familiar with, especially when it’s done with a dark and gritty style.
The clip garnered over ten million views and Warner took notice (and realized the opportunity for cross-promotion for their upcoming game), commissioning Tancharoen to produce, write and direct a new web series based on the notorious series. We were just told that Jeri Ryan and Michael Jai White will reprise their roles as Sonya Blade and Jax respectively, and Darren Shahlavi (300) will appear as Kano. Expect to see Sub-Zero and Scorpion at some point as well, because what would the series be without them? Nothing, that’s right. I still remember seeing the original Mortal Kombat in theaters opening night and not being able to hear anything besides shouts and applause when that dynamic duo stepped into frame.
“It’s extremely gratifying to have such talented actors playing these iconic roles,” said Kevin Tancharoen. “They will bring the essence of ‘Mortal Kombat’ to life and gamers will be deeply immersed into the game’s universe.”
The series will allow for “never-before-revealed insights” into characters from the game. The fan trailer already gave us some of that. For instance- showing that Reptile was born with a rare genetic disorder, turning him into the mass murderer he is. Such revelations!
This is the kind of overexplained stupidity that managed to ruin Halloween, people, and when you’re coming from source material like Mortal Kombat… well, there’s not much further down you can go. But hey, at least there will be some good fights.
Check the fan short for an idea of what to expect.
There’s no release date but Spring just yet, although the press release is quick to remind us that there’s a new Mortal Kombat game coming out in April. That one actually dose look pretty nifty. Check themortalkombat.com for more.