New Line’s upcoming reboot of NetherRealm Studios’ hit fighting game franchise, Mortal Kombat, will reportedly have the best fighting sequences that anyone has choreographed and shot on film. The hefty claim comes from Australian director (and relative newbie) Simon McQuoid, who explained to Collider during a set visit about how he had set an extremely high goal for Mortal Kombat’s stunt coordinator, Kyle Gardiner. Gardiner is best known for his work in comic book blockbusters such as Thor: Ragnarok, The Wolverine, and Aquaman.
“The fight team are incredible on this movie,” McQuoid boasted. “The first thing I said to Kyle, who is the stunt coordinator, he runs the whole thing, I said to him, ‘Ok Kyle, we have to make the best fights that have ever been on film. So, no pressure.’ But it was really about building character and story within the fight itself so it didn’t just feel like a plugin. It actually felt like part of the scene and part of the act.”
“That is the goal, is to try to make the most badass fight movie that’s ever been shot,” echoed producer Todd Garner. “It’s a very tall order, but we’re gonna do our best and we’ll see what happens. The closest thing I can think of is that it feels like a dance movie. Where it’s just like, we got this. You’re not faking anything […] These guys are just, you know, they’re the best at what they do. [Lewis Tan, who plays a new character named Cole Young] has done every piece of fighting choreo in this movie. And they all have.”
Whether Mortal Kombat does end up having the most exhilarating fight scenes ever put to celluloid remains to be seen, but what is certain is that many of the cast members have the chops and experience to make it happen. Those would include Indonesian actor and martial artist Joe Taslim, who won the role of Sub-Zero after rising to fame in hits such as Gareth Evans’ 2011 S.W.A.T. team actioner, The Raid: Redemption.
In addition to a theatrical release, Simon McQuoid’s Mortal Kombat reboot will be available to stream exclusively via HBO Max on April 16. The film’s official restricted trailer, which released earlier this month, is reportedly one of the most popular red-band trailers ever, having achieved 116 million views in its first week.