Original Mortal Kombat Movie Director Says He's Excited to See the Reboot

Mortal Kombat fans around the world are excited to see the franchise return to the big screen next year, and that list includes Paul Anderson. Anderson adapted the video game series into a live action film back in 1995, creating a work that remains beloved by fans. At the time, there hadn't been many successful video game adaptations, but Mortal Kombat broke the mold. As such, Simon McQuoid's Mortal Kombat will have big shoes to fill, but Anderson is excited to see the upcoming film. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the director said he plans to be there in the audience as a fan of the franchise.

"I'm a fan of Mortal Kombat, so I wish them well, and I'm excited to see what they come up with," Anderson said to Entertainment Weekly. "I'm going to show up as a fanboy."

The original Mortal Kombat movie offered a take on the series that remained fairly faithful to the source material, despite its PG-13 rating. At the time, that rating made a lot of sense, as the average age for gamers was younger, and it allowed those fans a chance to see the film. However, 25 years have passed since Anderson's film opened in theaters, and it's safe to say that the audience for a Mortal Kombat movie is much older now than it was in 1995. The new adaptation will be rated R, allowing the filmmakers far more freedom than the original director once had.

It will be interesting to see how the new film is received! The first Mortal Kombat movie holds a special place in the hearts of fans, but subsequent films and television projects have failed to achieve the same level of success as Anderson's adaptation. The director set a high bar for all future Mortal Kombat projects, and fans will likely continue to gauge them against his creation.

The new Mortal Kombat film will star Ludi Lin, Joe Taslim, Tadanobu Asano, Jessica McNamee, Mehcad Brooks, Josh Lawson, Chin Han, and more. The movie is currently slated to release January 21, 2021. You can check out all of our previous coverage of all things Mortal Kombat right here.

Are you a fan of the original Mortal Kombat movie? Are you excited for the upcoming film? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things gaming!