Mortal Kombat: Rebirth

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Mortal Kombat: Rebirth
Directed by Kevin Tancharoen
Written by
Based on
Produced by
  • Kevin Tancharoen
  • James McQuaide
  • Scott Martin
  • Laura Kasek
Starring
CinematographyScott Kevan
Edited byKevin Tanchaoren
Release date
  • June 8, 2010 (2010-06-08)
Running time
8 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Mortal Kombat: Rebirth is a 2010 American short fan film directed by Kevin Tancharoen, with fight choreography by Larnell Stovall. Based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, the short-film "actually was made by the director to sell Warner Bros. Entertainment on his vision for a reimagined Mortal Kombat film." [1] The short-film features an alternative version of the Mortal Kombat universe. The characters of the game are portrayed with vastly different origins, based on realism. There is no mention of Outworld or any other supernatural elements, although the tournament itself is a main part of the storyline in this short.

Contents

Tancharoen himself noted that he wouldn't shy away from supernatural elements entirely in a feature-length adaptation, but they have to be "done in a very tasteful way". [2] The pitch eventually evolved into the web series, Mortal Kombat: Legacy .

Plot

Deacon City Police Captain Jackson Briggs informs the assassin Hanzo Hasashi about the criminals Reptile and Baraka; the latter has recently killed actor-turned-undercover-officer Johnny Cage in a fight. Briggs believes they were both working for a man named Shang Tsung. He asks Hasashi to kill them in a mysterious tournament hosted by Tsung. When offered his freedom in exchange for accomplishing such tasks, Hasashi reveals that he willingly had himself incarcerated—and could free himself at any time. Then Sonya Blade arrives with a folder and informs Hasashi that his enemy Sub-Zero is alive and the one he killed was his brother. It becomes clear to Hasashi that the terms of his participation in the tournament involve killing Reptile, Baraka and Shang Tsung in return for access to Sub-Zero. Since the real Sub-Zero will be at the tournament, Hasashi, now calling himself Scorpion, agrees to participate.

Cast

Production

Development

Initially appearing on YouTube, the video was received with confusion by websites such as IGN and 1UP.com , both of which were uncertain if the video was a viral marketing ploy to promote either a new film or a video game. Contradicting reports came from the actors involved, with White's representatives believing it was an advertisement for then upcoming 2011 Mortal Kombat game, [6] while Ryan admitted her appearance was as a favor to a friend and described the video as a pitch for a film. [7] [8]

Kevin Tancharoen, the director of the short film, spent about $7,500 to produce it, and took two months to produce everything. Filming took place in April 2010 over a period of two days, using borrowed cameras. Actor Matt Mullins already knew the director, but had not had an opportunity to work with him. A few months before filming Tancharoen called him, inviting him to participate in a short film he was planning to shoot. The script was sent to Mullins who, impressed with the text and the director's vision for the franchise, agreed to participate as Johnny Cage. [2] [8] [9] Tancharoen himself has admitted that the film was never meant to be seen public, he merely wanted to use it as a pitch to Warner Bros, but when uploading it to YouTube, he accidentally published it to the public. [10]

Series co-creator Ed Boon himself has noted that the film was "awesome" [11] and had "no idea it was being made", [12] though he did opine that it "probably crosses the line" as far as "re-imagining" goes. [13] He later stated that he thought it was "incredibly well done" and that it was "a legitimate alternate universe Mortal Kombat". [14]

Larnell Stovall, besides being responsible for the choreography of all the fights, was also responsible for presenting Michael Jai White to the project. [15] Jeri Ryan, when asked about her role in the film, said she agreed to do it as a favor to a friend. [16]

Future

The web series, Mortal Kombat: Legacy , spawned as a result of the short, premiering on Machinima.com's YouTube channel from April 11, 2011 to September 26, 2013 for two seasons. Tancharoen returned as writer and director, alongside much of the cast, although the show takes place in a separate continuity with more supernatural elements.

In September 2011, shortly after the release of Legacy's first season, Tancharoen was hired to helm the Mortal Kombat film reboot with Oren Uziel, his Rebirth co-writer, scribing. However, Tancharoen dropped from the project in October 2013. The film eventually released in 2021, where Uziel was given story credit.

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Sub-Zero (<i>Mortal Kombat</i>) Mortal Kombat character

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Cage</span> Mortal Kombat character

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Reptile (<i>Mortal Kombat</i>) Mortal Kombat character

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Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind is a 2022 American direct-to-video adult animated martial arts film based on the Mortal Kombat franchise, directed by Rick Morales and written by Jeremy Adams, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation with animation by South Korean studio Digital eMation. Snow Blind was released on October 11, 2022, and is the third installment in the Mortal Kombat Legends series. The film borrows elements from the plot of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat 11, and is a direct sequel to Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021). It received mixed-to-positive reviews.

References

  1. ↑ "UPDATE: What is Mortal Kombat: Rebirth?". ComingSoon. June 9, 2011. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Weintraub, Steve (June 9, 2010). "Interview with MORTAL KOMBAT: REBIRTH Director Kevin Tancharoen; Talks About What He Wants to do in a Feature Version!". Collider.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Mortal Kombat Trailer is Director's Pitch for MK Film". 1UP. June 9, 2010. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  4. ↑ Gutierrez, Yaris. "CraveOnline". CraveOnline. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Original Mortal Kombat:Rebirth YouTube video upload source". YouTube . Archived from the original on June 9, 2010.
  6. ↑ Pirrello, Phil. "Best. Mortal Kombat Movie. Ever?". IGN . IGN Entertainment . Retrieved June 10, 2010.
  7. ↑ Pigna, Kris (June 9, 2010). "Mortal Kombat Trailer is Director's Pitch for MK Film". 1UP.com . UGO Networks. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
  8. 1 2 Weintraub, Steve (June 9, 2010). "Interview with MORTAL KOMBAT: REBIRTH Director Kevin Tancharoen; Talks About What He Wants to do in a Feature Version!". Collider. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  9. ↑ Massoud, Justin (June 11, 2010). "'Mortal Kombat: Rebirth' Star Michael Jai White in an Exclusive Interview". Asylum. Archived from the original on December 7, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  10. ↑ "'Mortal Kombat' viral video was an accident, says director". The Independent. February 2, 2011.
  11. ↑ noobde (June 10, 2010). "Twitter / noobde: A million people asked me". Twitter.com. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  12. ↑ noobde (June 10, 2010). "Twitter / noobde: But I was just as surprise". Twitter.com. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  13. ↑ noobde (June 10, 2010). "Twitter / noobde: Its TOTALLY different & pr". Twitter.com. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  14. ↑ Graft, Kris (August 4, 2010). "Back To Basics With Mortal Kombat". Gamasutra. p. 3. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
  15. ↑ Vejvoda, Jim (June 14, 2011). "Exclusive Chat With MK: Jax's Rebirth". IGN. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  16. ↑ Pigna, Kris (June 9, 2010). "Mortal Kombat Trailer is Director's Pitch for MK Film". 1UP. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
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