Caffeinated Clint
Last year an intriguing short film hit the web called “Mortal Kombat : Rebirth”. Inspired by the video game of the same name (which itself produced two reasonable films), the Kevin Tancharoen directed short was produced in an effort to interest Warner in a Tancharoen-directed movie reboot that, unlike the previous “Mortal Kombat” films, are set in the real world. Guess you could say, “Mortal Kombat : Rebirth” would be to “Mortal Kombat” what “Batman Begins” was to “Batman” (1989).
Here’s the short :
Well, seems it worked. Warner have given Tancharoen (“Fame”) the keys to the trophy room.
Instead of a film though (that’s probably down the track, should the shorts be successful), “Rebirth” will be a series of digital shorts – exclusively available online.
Shooting for the digital series will take place in Vancouver starting in early February. It’s believed Michael Jai White, who appeared in the short, will reprise his role for the shorts.
“Mortal Kombat” is one of the most celebrated videogame franchises of all time. Since its debut in 1992, it has spawned four arcade games, 10 console-based videogame titles, two movies (Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation), two televisions series (“Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm” and “Mortal Kombat: Conquest”) and an animated prequel Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins. Additionally, a new Mortal Kombat game will be coming out April 19, 2011 on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.
Available this spring through online digital retailers from Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, the “Mortal Kombat” digital series is an anthology of multiple live action shorts, each providing never-before-revealed insights into characters featured in the upcoming videogame as well as the game’s universe. Additional details, including casting, will be announced in the coming weeks.
The latest iteration of the award-winning videogame, ”Mortal Kombat” marks a triumphant return to the series’ mature presentation and a reinvention of its classic 2D fighting mechanic. Driven by an all new graphics engine, the fan favorite Fatality is back and presented in more gory detail than ever before. In addition, ”Mortal Kombat” introduces a number of new game-play features including tag team and a deep story mode. Mortal Kombat is being developed by NetherRealm Studios, led by “Mortal Kombat” creator and creative director Ed Boon.
Previously…
Last year Warner Bros snapped up – and immediately announced their plans to bring “Mortal Kombat” back to theaters. Yet strangely enough that was the last we’d heard of “Mortal Kombat 3″.
Today an interesting short film titled “Mortal Kombat : Rebirth”, featuring the recognizable faces of Michael Jai White (“Black Dynamite”) and Jeri Ryan (“Star Trek :Voyager”) and directed by Kevin Tancharoen (“Fame”), hit YouTube (Via Latino Review). So what is it? Well, seems it’s test footage for the new “Mortal Kombat” movie. It looks good don’t it?! But do question the ‘real world’ approach to the film? I mean, don’t we know the “Mortal Kombat” characters best as impossibly fit super-human magic-men? Whatever the case, anything’s better than another “Mortal Kombat :Annihilation”, and this looks three times as good! Bring it on… sans 3D!
