The first trailer for the Mortal Kombat reboot is finally here, and we’re bloody excited to see Indonesian action superstar Joe Taslim busting out his ice cold moves as the villain Sub-Zero!
The trailer was released at midnight in Indonesia, featuring iconic characters from the popular fighting game series, such as Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), Jax Briggs (Mehcad Brooks), Kano (Josh Lawson), Mileena (Sisi Stringer), and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), to name a few.
You can watch the red band trailer below, but we should remind you that when we said it’s bloody, it’s bloody and it gets pretty graphic. After all, Mortal Kombat is known for the fatalities.
Get over here! Watch the trailer for Mortal Kombat now — in theaters and streaming exclusively on HBO Max April 16. #MortalKombatMovie pic.twitter.com/eFhQhbdNUl
— Mortal Kombat Movie (@MKMovie) February 18, 2021
This reboot will introduce a new original character named Cole Young (Lewis Tan), who has a dragon marking on his chest, while also getting into the backstories of existing characters such as Scorpion and Jax — who lost his arms to Sub-Zero early in the trailer. The story reportedly does not have any connection to the previous Mortal Kombat movies released in 1995 and 1997.
Sub-Zero is a fighter with the ability to control ice, and he’s one of the original characters from the first Mortal Kombat game, which hit arcades in 1992. Speaking to gaming and entertainment news outlet IGN, director Simon McQuoid said that Sub-Zero will be the “key villain” in the movie.
The character, which is known for wearing a ninja mask, has been donned by two brothers in the lore — though McQuoid said that Joe’s Sub-Zero is inspired by the original one named Bi-Han.
The Mortal Kombat reboot is scheduled for theatrical release and on HBO Max on April 16 in the US. The film, which marks the directorial debut for McQuoid, is produced by The Conjuring and Aquaman director James Wan and written by David Callaham, who’s currently working on the sequel of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Since the first Mortal Kombat game was released in arcades in 1992, the franchise has grown to include several iterations across video game generations. The most recent installment, “Mortal Kombat 11,” debuted in 2019 and features both new and guest characters alike.
Over on Twitter, “Joe Taslim,” “Mortal Kombat,” and “Sub-Zero” have been trending since last night — illustrating how Indonesian gamers and fans alike are excited to see their fellow countryman in the movie. Joe took to Instagram earlier today to express his gratitude for the positive reactions to the trailer.
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When it was first announced in 2019, Joe Taslim was reportedly the first cast member to sign onto the adaptation. Joe, a former member of Indonesian national judo team, was last seen in the South Korean period action film The Swordsman released last year. The 39-year-old actor’s latest projects include Warrior, a Cinemax series adapted from a story by martial arts legend Bruce Lee, Indonesia’s first Netflix original The Night Comes For Us by Timo Tjahjanto (who was just announced to direct the Train to Busan remake), and the action-comedy flick Hit and Run.
Joe made his feature film debut in the Indonesian cult action flick The Raid with fellow action star Iko Uwais (who has also branched out to Hollywood with Mile 22, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Stuber, among others). His first Hollywood roles were in Fast & Furious 6 in 2013 and Star Trek Beyond in 2016.
