New MORTAL KOMBAT Movie Will Pushing R-Rating to the Limit
Producer James Wan and director Simon McQuoid’s Mortal Kombat hits theaters and also HBO Max next month. And today, McQuoid says the new movie will pushing the R Rating “right to the limit.”
He tells Games Radar: “We wanted to push the [blood, gore and fatalities] right to the limit. Obviously, there’s a point where the film becomes unreleasable if you push it too far, and that would be a very unwise return on investment for the studio. But from day one it’s been, ‘Okay, we’re doing this and we’re going to do it properly.'”
The MPAA recently slapped the flick with an unsurprising R-rating. It’s for strong bloody violence and language throughout and some crude references. Sounds good!
Wan recently revealed why now’s the time for a reboot, saying: “It’s been over 25 years since the first feature film came out, and fans have been pretty vocal asking for another big-screen entry. As a fan myself of the games and movies, I, too, wanted to see another theatrical version of this, and felt it was time again to revisit this IP that has been kept relevant in the game world but not as much in the feature world.”
He adds: “From the get-go, Todd Garner, my team and I, were excited and gung-ho about creating a new, updated version with today’s filmmaking technology whilst being respectful to the fantasy tone, violent action, and gore of the game that fans have come to love and, at the same time, bring these vivid characters and stories back to the big screen in a modern, exciting way for a whole new generation who may not be as familiar with the films as we were growing up.”
RELATED: MORTAL KOMBAT Officially Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence & More
The recent trailer is now the biggest red band trailer of all-time. It snagged 116M views in its first week. For the record, back in 2017, the first trailer for IT smashed the global 24-hour record with 197M views. But that wasn’t a red band trailer.
The new film follows MMA fighter Cole Young who is unaware of his legacy. Or that Emperor Outworld Shang Tsung sent his best warrior, Sub- Zero to hunt Cole. Fearing for the safety of his family, Cole sets out to find a special forces major who carries the same strange dragon as Cole. Soon he finds himself in the temple of Lord Raiden, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole prepares to take on Earth’s greatest champions against enemies of Outworld in a high-risk battle across the universe. But will Cole be under enough pressure to unlock his arcane – the immense power in his soul – in time to save his family and stop Outworld?
Simon McQuoid directs Mortal Kombat from a screenplay by Greg Russo. The film stars Joe Taslim (Sub Zero), Ludi Lin (Liu Kang), Jessica McNamee (Sonya Blade), Mehcad Brroks (Jax), Josh Lawson (Kano), Chin Han (Shang Tsung), Hiroyuki Sanada (Scorpion), Tadanobu Asano (Raiden), and Sisi Stringer (Mileena).
Mortal Kombat hits theaters and HBO Max on April 16th.
What do you think?
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