Mortal Kombat is returning to the big screen and HBO Max for the first time in 23 years. After several years of production, writing staff changes, and establishing a production team that includes James Wan (Aquaman) and Todd Garner, Simon McQuoid's directorial debut will refresh the Mortal Kombat story and put the walking meme that was Mortal Kombat Annihilation further in the rear view mirror. The images include looks at the cast of characters set to appear in this film, and it includes Liu Kang (Judi Lin), Joe Taslim (Sub-Zero), Tadanobu Asano (Raiden), Jessica McNamee (Sonya Blade), Mehcad Brooks (Major Jackson "Jax" Briggs), Josh Lawson (Kano), Chin Han (Shang Tsung), and Hiroyuki Sanada (Scorpion).

Entertainment Weekly released images from the upcoming film for the first time and talked about how this vision for Mortal Kombat will aim to capture the grisly and brutal nature the video games are known for, explaining to EW that it's going to be dark and it's going to be bloody, but blood is also an undertone for this vision of Mortal Kombat that goes beyond the viscera. it's going to be a "blood universe":

"Blood represents family," he tells EW. "Blood represents a connection. Blood represents who we are. Without getting too overcomplicated, what we did is use blood executionally."

New to this movie will be the inclusion of an all new exclusive original character, Cole Young, an MMA fighter who was born with a strange birthmark in the shape of the Mortal Kombat logo. According to the Warner Bros. story synopsis, Cole is the target of Lin Kuei assassin Bi Han, the original Sub-Zero, by orders of Shang Tsung. Fearing for his life and that of his family, Cole searches for Sonya Blade at the behest of Jax, who also has the same mark. It is currently unclear why the shape-shifting sorcerer wants Cole dead at this time.

The bearers of the Dragon marks, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Kano, grants them sanctuary under Earthrealm laws for participation in the Mortal Kombat tournament. Kano being aligned with longtime franchise heroes is very interesting. Historically, the character has always been portrayed as the villainous enemy of Sonya and Jax as the leader of the Black Dragon criminal gang. Perhaps a heel turn is afoot?

The beginning of the movie will focus on a trip to the past and fleshing out the blood rivalry between Hanzo Hasashi and Bi Han. One of the things that even the critically acclaimed 1995 movie didn't properly tap into was utilizing two of the most popular Mortal Kombat characters to the best of their abilities.

In the Paul W.S. Anderson film, Scorpion and Sub-Zero were merely mute henchmen of Shang Tsung, with little attention to detail about their origins and intense hatred for each other. Bi Han destroying Hanzo's clan, killing him, and slaying his family drove his spirit mad with revenge and taking on the mantle of the yellow ninja and dubbing himself "Scorpion". McQuoid certainly looks into providing the substance their battles with each other with substance and the violence fans have always wanted to see.

Mortal Kombat 2021 definitely intends to be R-rated and likely not for the faint of heart. McQuoid wants to throw some signature fatalities the franchise has been known for, along with a lot of other easter eggs. The blood show hits theaters and will be streaming on HBO Max April 16th.