James Wan has made a name for himself with the Saw franchise, original horror series like The Conjuring and Insidious, and more recently, his take on DC Comics’ Aquaman. Aside from spearheading a horror spinoff from the latter title, however, the director has also been trying to bring a new film adaptation of the Mortal Kombat video games to life since 2015. Not only is it finally going to happen, but according to a new report, the first major part has been cast.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, The Raid action star Joe Taslim will play none other than Sub-Zero, the iconic ninja warrior from the original 1992 arcade game who dressed in blue and manipulated ice against his opponents. Aside from Taslim’s casting and Wan’s involvement as a producer, all that’s really known about the film is who else is making it. Simon McQuoid, a “veteran commercial director,” is making his feature directorial debut with Mortal Kombat, and newcomer Greg Russo penned the script.
THR added a few more tidbits about the production, but there’s not much else to go on:
Sub-Zero was one of the original characters featured in the 1992 game and is known for his attacks involving ice. He has a long-running rivalry with similarly garbed fellow kombatant Scorpion.
Taslim’s is the first deal to close for Mortal Kombat, which is set to shoot in southern Australia later this year.
The reboot is supposedly targeting a theatrical release in early 2010, so you have until then to rewatch the original 1995 adaptation and, if you dare, the reviled sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Also, watch Taslim in The Raid. The Raid is awesome.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
