Mortal Kombat Movie Officially Gets Its R Rating

The new Mortal Kombat movie has officially got its R rating, a rating that should be a surprise to nobody who's been following along with the film's development. This means that this movie will be the first live-action Mortal Kombat film to earn the R rating which is exactly what Mortal Kombat fans have been hoping for in the build-up to the film's release. Mortal Kombat screenwriter Greg Russo and others working on the film have long said that it would get this R rating and that it'd include plenty of Fatalities and the franchise's signature violence.

Confirmation of the movie's inevitable rating comes from the latest MPA release related to movie classifications and ratings shared on Wednesday. Among other movies listed in the release, Mortal Kombat was given the R rating for "strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references."

It's about to get real... real violent.

WB's MORTAL KOMBAT reboot is rated R: strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references.

Finally, a rating worthy of multiple fatalities. FYI: the first two films were PG-13. pic.twitter.com/ZwP9twZ0kr

— Exhibitor Relations Co. (@ERCboxoffice) March 10, 2021

The confirmation of the R rating is a welcome and fitting development for the movie, and from what we've seen and heard so far, it looks like the Mortal Kombat will live up to Russo's promise that the film would "earn its R rating." The set of the movie apparently had "drums of blood" sitting around for use during the different shots if that tells you anything about how the Mortal Kombat movie plans on earning that rating.

Mortal Kombat's signature Fatalities will likely be one of the best vehicles for the violence that netted the movie the R rating, and we've already seen previews of some of those in action. Garner spoke about the Fatalities more recently and discussed what can be done in a game vs. what can be done in a movie. The film will still have ample opportunities to show off the Fatalities the fighters are known for, but we might not see anything as dramatic as Ludi Lin getting "his head ripped off."

While this will be the first live-action Mortal Kombat movie to net the coveted R rating, it won't be the first Mortal Kombat film overall to do so. That honor goes to Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge, the animated Mortal Kombat movie released last year. That movie itself had some gratuitous violence for fans to enjoy made more possible by the medium.

Mortal Kombat releases in theaters and on HBO Max April 16th.