First look images from the new Mortal Kombat live action movie

From New Line Cinema comes the new cinematic adventure Mortal Kombat, inspired by the blockbuster video game franchise, which most recently enjoyed the most successful game launch in its history, Mortal Kombat 11. The film is directed by award-winning Australian commercial filmmaker Simon McQuoid, marking his feature directorial debut, and produced by James Wan (The Conjuring universe films, Aquaman,), Todd Garner (Into the Storm, Tag), McQuoid and E. Bennett Walsh (Men in Black: International, The Amazing Spider-Man 2).

In Mortal Kombat, MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage—or why Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family’s safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao and rogue mercenary Kano, as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana—the immense power from within his soul—in time to save not only his family, but to stop Outworld once and for all?

The cast includes Lewis Tan (Deadpool 2, Netflix’s Wu Assassins) as Cole Young; Jessica McNamee (The Meg) as Sonya Blade; Josh Lawson (Bombshell) as Kano; Tadanobu Asano (Midway) as Lord Raiden; Mehcad Brooks (TV’s Supergirl) as Jackson Jax Bridges; Ludi Lin (Aquaman) as Liu Kang; with Chin Han (Skyscraper) as Shang Tsung; Joe Taslim (Star Trek Beyond) as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero; and Hiroyuki Sanada (Skyscraper) as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion. Also featured are Max Huang as Kung Lao; Sisi Stringer as Mileena; Matilda Kimber as Emily Young; and Laura Brent as Allison Young.

Bringing the hugely popular property to the big screen, McQuoid led a team of Australian and U.S. filmmakers, including director of photography Germain McMicking (True Detective, Top of the Lake: China Girl), production designer Naaman Marshall (Underwater, Servant), editors Dan Lebental (Spider-Man: Far From Home) and Scott Gray (Top of the Lake, Daffodils), visual effect supervisor Chris Godfrey (Hacksaw Ridge) and costume designer Cappi Ireland (Lion, The Rover). The music is by Benjamin Wallfisch (Blade Runner 2049, the IT films).

New Line Cinema is set to release Mortal Kombat on April 16, 2021 in theaters and will be available in the U.S. on HBO Max for 31 days from theatrical release. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros.