A few months ago the internet was lit ablaze by a mysterious video. It appeared to be a teaser trailer for a new Mortal Kombat movie featuring a new direction for the series. Replacing the supernatural aspects like mystical orders of ninja and alien creatures from Outworld with Assassins and deformed serial killers. Confusion set in as it was unclear whether this was viral marketing for the new game or if they were truly going to try to make another MK movie. With fairly well know actors like Black Dynamite’s Micheal Jai White and Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine from Star trek Voyager) surely this couldn’t be fake right?
As it turned out director Kevin Tancharoen threw this together on a shoe string budget as part of a pitch to Warner Brothers for a new MK movie. Movie rights for Mortal Kombat are tied up in a lawsuit with the makers of the first two MK movies however. In loo of a feature film, Warner Brothers has given the green light to a 10 episode web series based on the trailer. The story will focus on Jax with Michael Jai White reprising his role. Other characters appearing in the series include Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, Liu Kang, Sub Zero, Durak, Kabal, Kitana, Mileena and Scorpion.
With the success of shows like “The Guild” and “Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog”, web series may give TV shows a run for their money in the coming years.
