With the recent rumors of a new Mortal Kombat movie as well as the start of season 2 in the ongoing web-series Mortal Kombat: Legacy I thought it would be cool to take a look at what a rebooted movie in this day and age could be. So without further adieu, here are my choices for a new live action Mortal Kombat movie:
Soundtrack: Daft Punk
If anyone can make a thumping, memorable soundtrack that still retains the uptempo flair of the original than it’s Daft Punk. Plus how cool would it be to see them pop up in the background during a cameo?
Produced by: Guillermo Del Toro
His visual style would go perfectly with this dark, frightening and imaginative world and it would also ensure that we’d have a heavy dependence on make-up or practical effects. Maybe he could bring over some of his ideas from Middle-Earth to mix with the fantasy setting Mortal Kombat will ask for.
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
He proved that he can not only handle a popular distinguished property well in X-Men but also a large ensemble cast and some really fun fight choreography. He’d be able to bring his own distinct style but still hold true to the source material like he did with X-Men: First Class and I’d love to see what he could do.
Byung-hun Lee as Liu Kang
This man straight up owned in I Saw the Devil and has a lot of fighting experience so he would slip seamlessly into the world of Mortal Kombat.
Melissa George as Sonya Blade
Underrated actress? Check. Underrated bad-ass? Check. Able to hold her own at all times? Check. Melissa George is quietly floating under the radar but that doesn’t stop her from giving killer dramatic performances and she’s known to get physical as well. She’s got the looks and edge to nail Sonya Blade.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Johnny Cage
One of Hollywood’s up and comers, Nikolaj is owning his scenes on Game of Thrones and recently popped up on the big screen in Mama and Oblivion. He has the trademark style of playing a cocky, wise-cracking douche who slowly turns into a fan favorite over time.. so I love him for Cage.
Thomas Jane as Raiden
Perhaps the most underrated bad-ass in all of Hollywood, Tom Jane would relish in a role like this and we already know that his commitment to established superheroes is pretty damn good (He worked so hard for The Punisher 2 before he was dropped and recently came back to the character in a short movie).
Idris Elba as Jax
To be honest I want Idris Elba to play anything and everything but the role of Jax is one that he’d slip seamlessly into.. and kick a ton of ass with.
Ken Watanabe as Shang Tsung
The Oscar nominated actor has a ton of range and demonstrated in The Last Samurai and Batman Begins that he can hold his own in a fight. He’d bring that menacing screen presence to the world of Mortal Kombat and be a worthy villain for our heroes to face off against.
Grace Park as Kitana
Beautiful and deadly is the best way to sum up Kitana and coincidentally it’s the best way to sum up Grace Park. She’s gotten more and more exposure recently with Hawaii Five-O and can more than hold her own on the big screen in a fight.
Yeong-ae Lee as Mileena
Another who might be a bit too old for the part (she’s 42 right now) but she’s aged perfectly and if you’ve seen Lady Vengeance then you’ll be on board with this casting decision (and if you haven’t you should probably check it out).
Joel Edgerton as Kano
Edgerton’s another guy who’s slowly blowing up after roles in Animal Kingdom, Warrior, Zero Dark Thirty and more recently The Great Gatsby. He has an edge to him that could bring him to a villainous role like Kano, and he’s in ridiculous shape as well.
Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion
He might be a little bit old for the role but he’s in such amazing shape and has such great screen presence that I couldn’t turn him down. He demonstrated in roles like The Last Samurai, LOST and Sunshine that he can not only kick-ass but bring the drama whenever he needs to.
Tony Jaa as Subzero
Do I really need to explain myself with this one? Alright, cool, next.
Andy Serkis as Baraka
This man can literally do anything no matter if it’s behind the camera, in front of the camera or covered in a WETA motion capture suit. I’d rather see him go the make-up route save for his mouth and just completely go bat-shit with the role.
Rain as Smoke
This dude single-handedly proved that he can rip apart guys on the big screen in Ninja Assassin (and was also the only good part about the movie to be honest). He could take this fight choreography to a whole other level if he wanted to.
Kevin Durand as Goro
Hulking? Intimidating? Bigger than most men? Scares the crap out of you with one glance? Yeah, he’s all of those and a pretty solid actor too.
Well, those are my choices and I hope you enjoyed them. If you have some other decisions you can throw a comment in the section below!
