At long last, Mortal Kombat fans have their first glimpse at what this year’s movie adaptation will look like. In case you missed the action-packed (and seriously gory) trailer, you can check it out for yourself up above and suffice it to say, it’s extremely promising.
As expected, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Raiden, Jax and a whole host of other characters from NetherRealm’s long-running fighting game franchise make an appearance, with Earthrealm champion Sonya Blade providing some brief exposition before audiences are treated to several scenes of participants in the titular tournament beating the living snot out of each other.
Many of the matchups – Scorpion vs. Sub-Zero, in particular – have already been described by members of the crew as being highlights, of course, and while previous comments from writer Todd Garner have promised that there’ll be no censoring of gore, we’re still somewhat surprised by just how much the R-rated flick has managed to get away with.
Indeed, several instances of what can only be described as Fatalities are present here, including a few which are directly inspired by the games. There very well could be more to find in the densely-packed trailer, but some that have been spotted so far (courtesy of ComicBook.com) include Kano’s heart rip, Sub-Zero’s limb freeze, Jax’s head crush, Kano’s eye laser and an amazing-looking Animality, courtesy of Liu Kang. The latter, arguably one of the most memorable finishers of all, sees Kang summon a gigantic dragon formed entirely of fire which promptly proceeds to incinerate his foe. There are other nods, too, including the expected one of Scorpion uttering his iconic line (“Get over here!”).
Mortal Kombat releases April 16th in theaters and on HBO Max. Let us know which fight you’re most looking forward to seeing play out on the big screen, though, in the usual place below!