Nearly 20 years after its last film "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" in 1997, a "Mortal Kombat" reboot is finally in the works with a new producing team, following a 2011 announcement that a movie is being planned by director Kevin Tancharoen, who is behind the popular but short-lived web series "Mortal Kombat: Legacy". The initially planned film did not push through when it was dropped out in 2013, with Tancharoen no longer directing.
According to Screen Rant, the Australian director Simon McQuoid is currently in talks to helm the "Mortal Kombat" reboot for New Line Cinema. It was also from the same story that Greg Russo is reported to be in charge of writing the most recent version of the screenplay, although the general premise will still center around the original game's deadly inter-dimensional fighting tournament. However, it is still unknown if the reboot will bear any similarities to Paul W.S. Anderson's Liu Kang-driven original 1995 "Mortal Kombat" film or the 1997 "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" focus on the heroes' battle with Shao Kahn.
The "Mortal Kombat" reboot would be McQuiod's first feature film venture, although Variety reported have it that he is "one of the most in-demand commercials directors in the business". James Wan will be producing the movie, along with Michael Clear for Atomic Monster, and Todd Garner and Jeremy Stein through their Broken Road banner.
"Mortal Kombat" is one of the most successful video game of all time, having one of the must lucrative and iconic title, even after nearly 30 years from the release of the original game and over a dozen more titles. The latest edition of the game is "Mortal Kombat X" which is 2015's ninth best-selling game according to VentureBeat.
The first feature film "Mortal Kombat" was released in 1995 which was a commercial success and later on became a cult classic. Two years later, "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" was released which is both a critical and box-office bomb. The 1997 film was such a big disappointment that it took nearly 20 years before talks of a new big-screen feature resurfaced. But interest of fans seems to have been awakened when Tancharoen directed the two seasons of the popular web series "Mortal Kombat: Legacy".
The "Mortal Kombat" reboot currently has no release date.