We have about a month to go until the new Mortal Kombat arrives on HBO Max and in theaters, and the marketing push for the movie is in full swing. In the last few days, we’ve received a fresh trailer for the Simon McQuoid-directed action film, as well as other teases of what to expect. The latest glimpse of the April 16th release is an international poster, which while not revealing much more, is pretty impressive in and of itself.
Posted by Lewis Tan, the promo, available below, puts Scorpion and Sub-Zero front and center above an assortment of fighters and the classic Mortal Kombat logo. Tan, who plays Cole Young in the picture, also provided the caption “History being made,” presumably a reference to the large amount of talent on board for the project, which recently earned an R-rating for its violent content.
From what we’re hearing from the production, Mortal Kombat is aiming to please both long-term fans of the series and new viewers trying to figure out the basics of the tournament format. Indeed, Kombat‘s producers have been setting a high bar in terms of the martial arts on show, while it’s worth noting that Tan and other performers will be doing their own stunts when bringing to life the iconic fight scenes.
Warner Bros. clearly have big plans for spinning out Mortal Kombat into an MCU-like franchise, and there’ve already been some hints of a sequel. Whether or not audience enjoyment will be diluted by being distributed on streaming at the same time as cinema screens, including IMAX, is another question, though. Given that WB are also betting on this strategy for Godzilla vs. Kong and other potential blockbusters, it’s likely that most people won’t get the full theatrical experience anytime soon. In addition, there’ve been a lot of failed efforts to turn beloved fighting games into movies, meaning that the pressure is on for Mortal Kombat to live up to the hype.