ComicBook CRAM Presents: Mortal Kombat

After much anticipation and more than one delay, the Mortal Kombat movie is finally set to come to theaters and HBO Max this week. The new Mortal Kombat film featuring Sub-Zero, Scorpion, newcomer Cole Young, and a whole roster of fan-favorites from the iconic franchise will be the first live-action adaptation in decades and will notably be the first live-action Mortal Kombat movie to receive the R rating fans have been asking for.

Following our first installment of our ComicBook CRAM series focused on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, ComicBook.com is bringing you another week of breakdowns, opinions, and more focused on the Mortal Kombat movie to get you prepped for its release. We’ll look back at the history of the Mortal Kombat series, the characters who define it, and the importance of the bone-crunching, satisfying Fatalities that set Mortal Kombat fights apart from any other fighting franchise.

Once the movie finally hits theaters and home devices for HBO Max subscribers on April 23rd, we’ll continue the conversation by talking about what went down in the movie. That’ll include the biggest twists, the best Fatalities, and the implications for future Mortal Kombat adaptions that’ll spawn from this one.

We’ll have new content focused on these topics each day leading up to the movie’s release and afterwards, and we’ll collect them all below for easy reading as they come. Until then, you can prep for the Mortal Kombat movie by reading through our extensive backlog of stories from interviews, set visits, and press events focusing on the Mortal Kombat movie. You’ll find all those below separated by who’s doing the talking with more to come later.

Mortal Kombat heads to theaters, IMAX, and HBO Max on April 23rd.

ComicBook CRAM

• Kombat Kulture: Growing Up With Mortal Kombat
• Does Mortal Kombat Need the Tournament to Be Successful?
• Why Mortal Kombat’s R Rating Is Necessary
• Mortal Kombat and the Importance of Fatalities
• Mortal Kombat: The History of Scorpion and Sub-Zero
• Why Cole Young Will Be a Key Part of Mortal Kombat’s Success
• Mortal Kombat Fatalities That We Could See in the Movie
• Mortal Kombat Review: A Bloody, Mostly Good Time
• Where Is Kitana?
• Mortal Kombat Movie: Who is Raiden?
• Does the Mortal Kombat Movie Have a Post-Credits Scene?
• Is Johnny Cage in the Movie?
• Mortal Kombat Movie Ending Explained
• Clever Mortal Kombat Easter Egg References a Mortal Kombat 3 Character
• What We Want from a Mortal Kombat Sequel
• Who Is General Reiko?
• Here’s Every Fatality in the Mortal Kombat Movie
• Mortal Kombat’s Sequel Should Spend More Time in Outworld
• Ranking the Mortal Kombat Movie’s Fatalities

Ludi Lin (Liu Kang)

• Ludi Lin Talks the Movie’s Authenticity
• Ludi Lin on the Physicality of the Fight Scenes
• Ludi Lin Says He Made a Special “Commitment” to Liu Kang When Cast
• Liu Kang Actor Explains Why the Franchise “Grips” Him

Max Huang (Kung Lao)

• Max Huang’s Favorite Character Shouldn’t Surprise You
• Kung Lao Actor Talks Working With So Many Talented Martial Artists
• Max Huang Explains Why Kung Lao Joins the Tournament
• Max Huang Talks Kung Lao’s Fighting Style in the Movie
• Kung Lao Actor Max Huang on Using the Iconic Hat
• Max Huang Initially Auditioned for Liu Kang
• How Kung Lao Actor Max Huang Prepared for the Role
• Max Huang on Holding the Iconic Hat for the First Time

Lewis Tan (Cole Young)

• Cole Young Actor Lewis Tan Shares His Biggest Challenges While Filming
• Lewis Tan Talks About Working With So Many Great Martial Artists
• Lewis Tan Admits a Fatality Scene Made Him Sick

Josh Lawson (Kano)

• Kano Actor Josh Lawson Talks About Balancing Comedy With Menace
• Josh Lawson Talks Playing the Bad Guy

Simon McQuoid (Director)

• Expanding the Franchise to New Fans
• Mortal Kombat Movie Director Talks Gore and Pushing the Envelope
• Simon McQuoid Talks the Movie’s Timeline
• Mortal Kombat Director Talks About His History With the Franchise
• Every Character Has Their “Moment to Shine”
• Mortal Kombat Director Talks the Importance of Authenticity
• How the Music Became Incredibly Important
• The Importance of Kano Being in the Film
• Balancing Fan Expectations With New Audiences
• Why Simon McQuoid Thinks the Franchise Is Popular
• How Much Blood Is in the Movie?

Todd Garner (Producer)

• Every Fight Has Its Own Personality
• Most Exciting Aspect of the Reboot
• Todd Garner Explains His 5 “Demands” for the Movie to Get Made
• Trying to Please Both New and Hardcore Fans
• Todd Garner Explains How the Beginning of the Movie Is “Everything”
• How the Movie’s Casting Stays True to the Games
• Todd Garner on Joe Taslim Being Cast First
• Todd Garner Says the Goal Was Making “The Most Badass Fighting Movie That’s Ever Been Shot”
• Mortal Kombat Producer: “I’ve Never Made a Movie Like This Before”
• The Challenges of Developing the Movie
• The Movie’s Fight Choreography
• Todd Garner on Kano: “He’s Just Dogs Off Chains”
• How the Avengers Influenced the Movie
• Todd Garner Explains Why Cole Young Exists
• Why Goro Is CGI
• Todd Garner Talks Fatalities
• Characters That Didn’t Make the Cut