by Matt Raub, Jan 17 2011 // 2:00 PM
Back in June, we brought you the very interesting web video that was circulating to just about everyone in the video game and film world. The film was titled Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, and had no legal ties to the Acclaim game, but re-envisioned the classic characters in a modern, crime-ridden world.
The short came from video game diehard Kevin Tancharoen, the director behind 2009′s remake of the classic musical Fame (talk about a leap, eh?). The internets were all abuzz after the video was released, with the most outrageous being that this was actually a trailer for the upcoming Mortal Kombat film, and they had secretly been shooting the thing for months.
Sadly, that wasn’t the case. Yes, Warner Bros. is working on a film reboot of the franchise with Oren Uziel writing a script, but this isn’t it. It looks like the studio is passing on Tancharoen’s vision of the film, and instead he’s taking his idea to the web in the form of a 10-episode web series.
Not much is known about production or distribution, but the webseries is set to begin filming next month in Vancouver. So fear not, MK fans, you’ll still get your gritty, crime-drama world (and possibly Michael Jai White), just not on the big screen.
For those who missed the short film back in June when it hit, you can check it out after the jump.
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Posted in: Action · Adaptation · Drama · Fan Films · Games · Movies · New Media · News · Sci-Fi · Video · Video Games
Tagged: Geri Ryan, Kevin Tancharoen, Michael Jai White, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, Oren Uziel, Warner Bros, Web Series
by Sebastian Suchecki, Jan 26 2010 // 7:00 AM
To many studios and producers in Hollywood, the word “reboot” seems to have magical properties. To them, the word means “take a failed property and wash away all the bad with a new film.” It doesn’t always end that way, when the “bad” in this instance is something as bad as Ang Lee’s Hulk, and even a Robert Downey Jr. cameo can’t wash that away.
Relentlessly, studios don’t seem to care and continue to “wash away” failed films with shiny new projects. With that in mind comes news that Warner Bros. is planning a reboot of the 1995 adaptation of Mortal Kombat. The original was certainly no Street Fighter, but it’s in no way a “classic” either.
The plan is to have newcomer Oren Uziel pen the script, with no set date on production. A reboot may not be a bad idea, considering the bad press that video game films got in the 90s, and how that seems to be changing lately with the Resident Evil and Tomb Raider films doing well financially.
The question now is “What ever happened to the third Mortal Kombat film that was set to begin production last September?” The film was originally rumored to be a reboot, with cartoon writer Sean Catherine Derek writing the script.
No word on whether that film fell apart or not, but with the recent news of Warner’s involvement, you can believe that the original project is dead.
Posted in: Action · Movies · News · Reboots and Remakes · Sci-Fi · Video Games · Warner Bros
Tagged: Mortal Kombat, Oren Uziel, Reboot, Sean Catherine Derek, Street Fighter, Video Games, Warner Bros