Mortal Kombat is an American series of martial arts fantasy films based on the video game series of the same name.
The first film, Mortal Kombat, was released in 1995 and its sequel, Mortal Kombat Annihilation, was released in 1997. After the two films, game publisher Midway filed for bankruptcy. Warner Bros. Pictures, having become the parent of New Line Cinema in 2008 (after over a decade of both operating as separate divisions of Time Warner), made a bid to purchase most of Midway's assets, including Mortal Kombat. In June 2009, Kasanoff and Threshold sued in bankruptcy court, arguing that they owned the copyright to many of the characters from the series.
On July 1, 2009, the bankruptcy court approved the sale of most of Midway's assets to Warner Bros. subject to the intellectual property claims of Threshold Entertainment.Gross, Kevin. In re: Midway Games Inc., et al., Debtors, Bankruptcy No. 09-10465; Threshold Entertainment, Inc. v. Midway Games Inc., et al., Adv. Case No. 09-51081, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, D. Delaware, March 29, 2011; and "Finish Him! Bankruptcy Court Dismissed Suit Over Mortal Kombat Intellectual Property Rights for Lack of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction", Morris James, LLP, September 2, 2011 After years of development hell, a reboot of the series was released in April 2021.
Films Animated Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Producer(s) Original Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins April 11, 1995 Joseph Francis Kevin Droney Alison Savitch & Lawrence Kasanoff Reboot series (Legends) Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge April 14, 2020 Ethan Spaulding Jeremy Adams Rick Morales Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms August 31, 2021 Jim Krieg & Rick Morales Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind October 11, 2022 Rick Morales Jim Krieg Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match October 17, 2023 Ethan Spaulding
Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins (1995) On April 11, 1995, New Line Home Video, Turner Home Entertainment and Threshold Entertainment released a tie-in animated film on VHS and Laserdisc, titled Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins. Serving as a prequel to the in-development 1995 feature film, it follows the protagonists Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade as they travel on a mysterious boat to the Mortal Kombat tournament. On the way they meet Raiden, who provides them with some hints about how to survive the tournament and defeat Shang Tsung and his army of Tarkatan minions. Upon arriving at the island where the battles takes place, Raiden retells the origins of Shang Tsung, Goro, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and the Great Kung Lao in between fight scenes.
The film featured a combination of traditional animation, motion capture, and CGI to explain the origins behind some of the movie's main characters, as well as a fifteen-minute behind-the-scenes documentary of the theatrical release. Trailers of the film were seen on the promotional screener VHS copy, and on other VHS releases from Turner Home Entertainment and New Line Home Video. The film was included on the Mortal Kombat Blu-ray released in April 2011.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020)
A direct-to-video animated film called Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge was released by Warner Bros. Animation on digital April 14, 2020, and on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on April 28. The film is directed by Ethan Spaulding and written by Jeremy Adams. The voice cast includes Patrick Seitz as Scorpion, Steve Blum as Sub-Zero, Darin De Paul as Quan Chi, Jordan Rodrigues as Liu Kang, Joel McHale as Johnny Cage, & Jennifer Carpenter as Sonya Blade. Kevin Michael Richardson also reprises his role of Goro from the 1995 live action film. The film's premise centers around Scorpion seeking revenge on those who murdered his family and clan, after being resurrected by Quan Chi, while Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade are chosen to participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament to save Earthrealm from Outworld.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)
A sequel, entitled Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms, with most of the cast and crew from Scorpion's Revenge, was released on August 31, 2021.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind (2022)
Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match (2023)
In an interview in October 2022, Jeremy Adams revealed that he was writing the 4th Mortal Kombat Legends film. It serves as a prequel to Scorpion's Revenge.
Live-action Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Story by Producer(s) Original series Mortal Kombat August 18, 1995 Paul W. S. Anderson Kevin Droney Lawrence Kasanoff Mortal Kombat Annihilation November 21, 1997 John R. Leonetti Bryce Zabel & Brent V. Friedman John Tobias, Joshua Wexler & Lawrence Kasanoff Reboot series Mortal Kombat April 23, 2021 Simon McQuoid Greg Russo & David Callaham Greg Russo & Oren Uziel James Wan, Todd Garner, Simon McQuoid & E. Bennett Walsh Mortal Kombat II May 8, 2026 Jeremy Slater James Wan, Todd Garner, Toby Emmerich, Simon McQuoid & E. Bennett Walsh Mortal Kombat 3
Original series Mortal Kombat (1995)
Three unknown martial artists are summoned to a mysterious island to compete in a tournament whose outcome will decide the fate of the world.
Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997)
A group of martial arts warriors have only six days to save the Earth from an extra-dimensional invasion.
Reboot series Mortal Kombat (2021)
A washed-up mixed martial arts fighter named Cole Young is unaware of his hidden lineage or why Lin Kuei assassin Sub-Zero is hunting him down. Concerned for the safety of his family, he seeks out a clique of fighters that were chosen to defend Earthrealm against Outworld.
Mortal Kombat II (2026) Following the events of Mortal Kombat, Lord Raiden tasks Earthrealm champions to find new warriors to prepare the upcoming tournament against Outworld, with one such recruit being a Hollywood martial artist, Johnny Cage.
Mortal Kombat 3 (TBA) In October 2025, during New York Comic Con, it was reported that a third film was in development, with Jeremy Slater returning as screenwriter.
Cast and crew Recurring cast and characters
Characters Animated films Live-action films Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins Mortal Kombat Legends Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Annihilation Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat II Scorpion's Revenge Battle of the Realms Snow Blind Cage Match Liu Kang Randy Hamilton Jordan Rodrigues Robin Shou Ludi Lin Sonya Blade Jennifer Hale Jennifer Carpenter Bridgette Wilson Sandra Hess Jessica McNamee Johnny Cage Jeff Glen Bennett Joel McHale Joel McHale Linden Ashby Chris Conrad Karl Urban Raiden Ron A. Feinberg Dave B. Mitchell Dave B. Mitchell Christopher Lambert James Remar Tadanobu Asano Hanzo Hasashi Ed Boon Patrick Seitz Chris Casamassa J. J. Perry Hiroyuki Sanada Hiroyuki Sanada Kuai Liang Sub-Zero Jim Cummings Bayardo De Murguia Ron Yuan Keith Cooke Bi-Han Steve Blum François Petit Joe Taslim Shang Tsung Artt Butler Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Chin Han Goro Ron A. Feinberg Kevin Michael Richardson Tom Woodruff Jr.Kevin Michael RichardsonFrank Welker Angus Sampson Kitana Grey DeLisle Talisa Soto Adeline Rudolph Jax Briggs Ike Amadi Gregory McKinney Lynn Red Williams Mehcad Brooks Shao Kahn Fred Tatasciore Frank Welker Brian Thompson rowspan="2" Martyn Ford Shinnok Robin Atkin Downes Robin Atkin Downes Reiner Schöne Quan Chi Darin De Paul Damon Herriman Kano Robin Atkin Downes David Wenham Trevor Goddard Josh Lawson Kung Lao Matt Yang King Max Huang Jade Emily O'Brien Irina Pantaeva Tati Gabrielle Cyrax Artt Butler J. J. Perry Smoke Matthew Mercer Ridley Tsui Reiko Robin Atkin Downes Nathan Jones Kabal Keith Silverstein Daniel Nelson Reptile Keith Cooke Chan Kang Steven Ho Sindel Musetta Vander Ana Thu Nguyen Mileena Dana Hee Sisi Stringer Baraka Dennis Keiffer CJ Bloomfield Cole Young Lewis Tan Harumi Hasashi Yukiko Shinohara
Crew Occupation Film Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Annihilation Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat II Director(s) Paul Anderson John R. Leonetti Simon McQuoid Producer Lawrence Kasanoff James WanTodd GarnerSimon McQuoidE. Bennett Walsh James WanTodd GarnerToby EmmerichE. Bennett WalshSimon McQuoid Writer(s) Kevin Droney Bryce ZabelBrent V. FriedmanJohn TobiasJoshua WexlerLawrence Kasanoff Greg RussoDavid CallahamGreg RussoOren Uziel Jeremy Slater Composer George S. Clinton Benjamin Wallfisch Director(s) of photography John R. Leonetti Matthew F. Leonetti Germain McMicking Stephen F. Windon Editor(s) Martin Hunter Peck Prior Scott GrayDan Lebental Stuart Levy Production company(s) Threshold Entertainment New Line CinemaAtomic MonsterBroken Road Productions New Line CinemaAtomic MonsterBroken Road ProductionsFireside Films Distributor(s) New Line Cinema Warner Bros. Pictures
Reception Box office performance Film U.S. release date Box office revenue Budget Reference United States International Worldwide Original series Mortal Kombat $73,000,000 $51,741,822 $122,195,920 $18 million Mortal Kombat Annihilation November 21, 1997 $35,927,406 $15,449,455 $51,376,861 $30 million Reboot series Mortal Kombat April 23, 2021 $42,201,013 $41,400,000 $83,601,013 $55 million Mortal Kombat II May 8, 2026 $79,579,103 $49,500,000 $129,079,103 $80 million Total$$$ $183 million
Critical and public response Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore Mortal Kombat 44% (77 reviews) 60 (13 reviews) A– Mortal Kombat Annihilation 4% (52 reviews) 11 (12 reviews) C+ Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge 90% (21 reviews) Mortal Kombat 55% (300 reviews) 44 (43 reviews) B+ Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms 50% (6 reviews) Mortal Kombat II 64% (187 reviews) 46 (35 reviews) B
Music Title U.S. release date Length Performed by Label Mortal Kombat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack August 15, 1995 68:28 Various Artists TVT Mortal Kombat: Original Motion Picture Score October 11, 1995 42:01 George S. Clinton RykodiscMortal Kombat Annihilation: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack October 28, 1997 72:08 Various Artists TVT Mortal Kombat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack April 16, 2021 79:37 Benjamin Wallfisch WaterTower Music Mortal Kombat II (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) May 1, 2026 97:00
Novelizations A novelization of the first movie by "Martin Delrio" (James D. Macdonald and Debra Doyle) was released through Tor Books. It is based on an early version of the film's script, and as such it includes several deleted or unfilmed scenes, such as a fight between Sonya Blade and Jade.
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