Let’s admit it, guys – back in the day, many of us were still fledgling junior highers who actually thought “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” was quite kickass. I, for one, purchased tickets to the remastered release of “The Little Mermaid” (due to Canada’s conservative ratings system) in order to watch this film. I recently checked out “Annihilation” once again and, dear lord, is it awful. Sure, Robin Shou was back as Liu Kang, but that was probably the only redeeming factor of the film. Johnny Cage is killed off 10 minutes in, Raiden gets a hair cut, Sheeva’s fight consists of being crushed by a chandelier, some of the dialogue isn’t even synced – I’ll stop there. It’s been over a decade since the abominable sequel to the original video game-to-film adaptation plunged the franchise to what was believed to be its eternal doom. Apparently, that wasn’t the case as believe it or not, there is, in fact, a third film lined up for production. You’re kidding me, right? Unless they pull a “Batman Begins” reboot, how could they possibly resurrect such a franchise?
Reboot or not, it looks like “Mortal Kombat 3″ is further ahead in development than any of us had anticipated. In September of 2008, director Christopher Morrison told MovieHole that they were still trying to find the money to finance a third installment. After that, came a lawsuit filed by Threshold Entertainment claiming intellectual property to the franchise. This has apparently come to an end as of last week as Warner Bros has officially acquired Midway.
In a recent article from FirstShowing, Chris Casamassa, a 44-year old 8th degree black belt who played Scorpion in the first film, reported that he’s scheduled to start filming the third film this coming September. Larry Kasanoff, producer of the first film, has also stated that they have the script, talent, and shooting locations lined up. Has Warner Bros already provided funding for this project? With so little news about this film’s development, it might even come as little surprise if this does end up to a be direct-to-video release by Warner Home Video. Who knows?
Searching for the film on imdb, we see that it is simply titled “Mortal Kombat” and plans for a 2010 release. Sean Catherine Derek, whose credits include the “Mortal Kombat: Conquest” TV series and a few episodes from the “Batman” and “Spiderman” 90s animated series, is penning the screenplay. Christopher Lambert is also listed as rumored to reprise his role as Lord Rayden (I call BS). While I would love to see Robin Shou return as Liu Kang, as he was just so kickass in the first one, the guy’s what, almost 50 now? Sad. Although, Casamassa (44) is returning as Scorpion. Hmm. Anyways, we’ll be sure to update you on further developments as they unfold.
In the meantime, why don’t we all refresh our memories as to why “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” sucked ass…
This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.