Choose Your Character! With just one year left before we see Mortal Kombat in theaters, Screen Rant has reported the confirmed list of characters that will be seen in the Rated R video game adaptation action!
The fighting franchise brings Simon McQuiod (Director) and Greg Russo (screenwriter) on the reboot project to bring fan-favorite fatalities to big-screen.
Screen Rant confirms Mortal Kombat characters that’ll be featured in the film! Here they are
SUB-ZERO
One of the most recognizable video game characters of all-time, Sub-Zero is a title belonging to two separate members of the Lin Kuei ninja clan, both Cryomancers with complete mastery over the element of ice. The first Sub-Zero, debuting in the first Mortal Kombat video game, was a ruthless assassin named Bi-Han. He entered the original Mortal Kombat tournament with the intention of assassinating the host, Shang Tsung, for an unknown buyer. However, he was brutally defeated and killed by Scorpion, an undead member of the rival ninja clan the Shirai Ryu, who falsely believed that Bi-Han had massacred him alongside his entire clan and family years before.In the film, Sub-Zero will be portrayed by Joe Taslim, an Indonesian actor and martial artist of Chinese descent. Taslim has starred in films such as The Raid, Fast and Furious 6, the Netflix original The Night Comes For Us, and most recently the Cinemax action series Warrior. While it isn’t confirmed which version of Sub-Zero Taslim will be playing, it would make the most sense that if the film is based on the events of the original game, he would be playing the elder Bi-Han.
JAX
Another character who made his first debut in MKII, Jax is an African-American major within the United States Special Forces, a government organization designed to stop criminal enterprises such as Kano’s Black Dragon. He’s brought into the tournament in order to rescue Sonya Blade and Kano, who were captured by Shang Tsung’s forces at the conclusion of the first game, and bring them back to Earthrealm for the latter to face justice. While the character is usually depicted as having cybernetically enhanced arms, he did not have these in his first in-game Mortal Kombat appearance and received them in the next game in the series, MK3. Mehcad Brooks, recognizable to fans of The CW’s Arrowverse as Supergirl’s James Olsen, will be portraying the character on-screen.
RAIDEN
One of the most powerful characters in the Mortal Kombat franchise and also one of the only characters to appear in every game in the series, Raiden will be played by Tadanobu Asano, who has appeared in countless films including Ichi the Killer, Silence, Midway, and even as Hogun in the MCU. Within the context of the games, Raiden is the eternal God of Thunder, as well as the protector of Earthrealm, a responsibility that he takes quite seriously. In order to stop Shang Tsung from winning the tournament in the first game and taking over Earthrealm, Raiden is the one who assembles Earthrealm’s team of defenders, due to the fact that rules prevent him from directly interfering in the tournament himself. Despite the stoic and regal aspects of his personality befitting a god, Raiden is ultimately truly altruistic and is typically depicted as one of the most pure-hearted characters in the series.
MILEENA
Part-Tarkatan and part-Edenian, Mileena is a clone of Kitana, created by Shao Khan and Shang Tsung in his flesh pits on Outworld. As Kitana is only Shao Khan’s stepdaughter and, in truth, the rightful princess of the conquered realm of Edenia, Mileena’s ultimate goal is to kill her sister and assume her place as princess. Savage, bloodthirsty, and a psychotic opportunist, Mortal Kombat’s Mileena will be played by newcomer Sisi Stringer in the upcoming film
LIU KANG
Single-handedly the most important character in Mortal Kombat and the overarching protagonist of the franchise, Liu Kang was originally created as a Bruce Lee archetype: a Chinese martial artist complete with the black pants, bare chest, and white sneakers in his first appearance. However, since then, the character has truly grown into his own, trained by the White Lotus Society to become Earthrealm’s greatest warrior and the nemesis of the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung as well as his superior, the emperor Shao Khan. After defeating Shang Tsung in the first tournament, Liu Kang has gone on to become the Grand Champion of Mortal Kombat on four separate occasions afterwards. Liu will be played by Ludi Lin in the upcoming film, a Chinese-Canadian actor whose appearances include Aquaman, Black Mirror, and Zack the Black Ranger in the 2017 Power Rangers reboot.
Kano
Another of the original characters from the first Mortal Kombat game, Kano is a ruthless Australian cutthroat and leader of the Black Dragon mercenary clan. He has a cybernetic eye, which he uses to cover a facial disfigurement that he received at the hands of Jax Briggs. He enters the fold of the original Mortal Kombat tournament after hearing that Shang Tsung’s palace was filled with gold and other riches, which he planned to steal for the Black Dragon clan. Unbeknownst to him, however, Kano was tailed to the tournament by Lieutenant Sonya Blade, who harbored a vendetta against him for killing her former partner. While Sonya and other fighters from Earthrealm were forced to compete in the tournament against their will, Kano openly indulged in Kombat of his own accord, simply because he wanted to. Kano is unpredictable, ruthless, and ultimately a coward, choosing to side with Shang Tsung and Shao Khan simply because he feels it will bring him the most reward. Kano will be portrayed on-screen by Josh Lawson, an Australian actor and director.
SONYA BLADE
Jessica McNamee (Battle of the Sexes, The Meg) will play Sonya Blade, the first playable female character in Mortal Kombat and a Special Forces Lieutenant with a mission to track down and capture the criminal Kano. In the games, Sonya Blade is a highly skilled and formidably trained agent, described as both impulsive and highly logical. After arriving on Shang Tsung’s island, the sorcerer ambushed her and her team and offered her an ultimatum: compete in the tournament or watch as her team is killed. She reluctantly agreed, only for Shang Tsung to massacre her entire unit anyway. She’s eventually recruited as part of Raiden’s team of Earthrealm champions and becomes close allies with Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Kung Lao.
SHANG TSUNG
Ng Chin Han, an acclaimed Singaporean actor with a career spanning over 20 years, including appearances in The Dark Knight and Arrow, will portray Shang Tsung in the Mortal Kombat reboot movie. Shang Tsung is the primary antagonist of the first game and a recurring antagonist throughout the series, depicted as a soul-stealing sorcerer and the second-in-command to emperor Shao Khan. Shang Tsung is hundreds of years old, prolonging his existence through black magic which allows him to absorb the souls and memories of the combatants that he has defeated. Through years of treachery Shang Tsung has ensured that he is the sole grandmaster of the Mortal Kombat tournament, holding it on his private island and secretly manipulating events there for the favor of Shao Khan.
SCORPION
Another one of the most recognizable video game characters of all-time, and Ed Boon’s personal favorite character, Scorpion is an undead wraith that has appeared in every game in the Mortal Kombat series. Real name Hanzo Hasashi, Scorpion was a member of the ninja clan the Shirai Ryu, working as an assassin to provide for his wife and child. However, Hanzo, his family, and the Shirai Ryu were brutally exterminated by the Netherrealm sorcerer Quan Chi, who resurrected Scorpion and tricked him into believing that the Lin Kuei and Sub-Zero were responsible for the murders. This set Scorpion on a path of vengeance that would persist throughout the games, transferring from Sub-Zero to Quan Chi after discovering his deceit. Scorpion is a unique character in that his moral alignment has remained neutral throughout the entire series, due to his own personal brand of vigilante justice and the quest for vengeance that drives him. Never entirely good or bad, his iconic spear and twin swords are the weapons which he uses to dole out his personal brand of retribution. The character will be played by Hiroyuki Sanada in the film, a Japanese actor known for his appearances in The Wolverine, 47 Ronin, and Avengers: Endgame.
KUNG LAO
Another member of the White Lotus Clan and close friend (potentially cousin) to Liu Kang, Kung Lao will be played in the Mortal Kombat movie reboot by Chinese-German actor and stunt choreographer Max Huang. A pacifist by nature, Kung Lao’s first appearance is in MKII, accompanying the Earthrealm heroes to Outworld in order to defeat Shao Khan and stop his planned invasion of Earth. Kung Lao is also the descendant of the Great Kung Lao, an Earthrealm champion who defeated Shang Tsung and the forces of Outworld over 300 years ago, but was murdered in combat by Shang Tsung’s champion Prince Goro years later. As such, Kung Lao exists within the shadow of his ancestor, wanting to fill his footsteps by reforging the White Lotus Clan into a school where he can train a new generation of combatants in preparation for future threats.
NITARA
Actress and stunt coordinator Elissa Cadwell will play Nitara in the Mortal Kombat film, a character who made her first appearance in Deadly Alliance, one of the franchise’s later games before the 2011 reboot. A vampire from a conquered realm that became merged with Shao Khan’s Outworld, Nitara fights to find a way to free her home realm and keep it safe and independent. Despite her perchance for human blood to ensure her survival, Nitara is, like Scorpion, decidedly neutral among the series’ many characters, focused solely on her goal of liberating her home. Due to her relatively late appearance in the franchise, it’s unknown exactly how Nitara will factor into the film, and seems to be a wildcard in relation to the classic characters appearing in the long-awaited Mortal Kombat movie reboot.
