Mortal Kombat Director Explains Why He Thinks the Franchise Is Popular

At this point, it probably it not a surprise to hear someone say that the Mortal Kombat franchise is popular among many, many people. The fighting video game’s many entries, movies, overall lore, and more have drawn folks in for decades. But while ComicBook.com was participating in a set visit for the new movie while it was filming, director Simon McQuoid specifically explained why it is that he thinks the franchise is popular — and his answer will likely leave you nodding along.

“Really Mortal Kombat for me is wildly popular because of the characters,” McQuoid said on the set of the movie. “And the characters are ultimately the sort of the engine of this timeline. I mean, there’s the canon, there’s all the backstory, all the detail. Every character has had enormous sort of layers of backstory added to them but really when I [talk] about this sort of respect for the fans, it’s also the respect of the characters and how they get presented and brought and celebrated to the fans and also to the new audience. Because they’re really fantastic characters and I wanted to pay them the respect to bring them to a place that feels like we give a shit. And they are elevated and we can sort of get really excited by Sub-Zero. Joe Taslim manifesting Sub-Zero is a pretty exciting thing to see when he’s doing it.”

If for whatever reason you haven’t seen it yet, here is the official synopsis for the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie:

“MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage—or why Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family’s safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao and rogue mercenary Kano, as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana—the immense power from within his soul—in time to save not only his family, but to stop Outworld once and for all?”

The Mortal Kombat reboot film is currently scheduled to release on April 16th on both HBO Max and in theaters. The cast includes Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Sisi Stringer as Mileena, and Lewis Tan as new character Cole Young. It wrapped filming late last year. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the film right here.

What do you think makes the Mortal Kombat franchise so popular? Is it the characters, like McQuoid says? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk about all things gaming!