Ah we all knew this day would come. After proving himself worthy of rebooting the beloved video game franchise, Kevin Tancharoen has been given the reigns to direct a Mortal Kombat reboot feature film. Though his preview credits include Fame and Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, Mortal Kombat fans know that Tancharoen holds a special place in his heart for the violent and controversial game. In June 2010 a MK short film surfaced on the ‘Net and people went bananas. The nearly eight-minute long video Mortal Kombat: Rebirth reached millions of hits in a matter of days. Turned out that it was Tancharoen’s attempt to pitch a reimagined Mortal Kombat movie to the studios. Though he wasn’t immediately granted the rights to helm a movie early on, he was given the opportunity to produce a 10-part web series based in the MK universe. Apparently Mortal Kombat: Legacy and the rebooted video game that followed gained enough steam and attracted enough viewers/gamers to make Warner Bros. (New Line’s parent company) greenlight the movie with Tancharoen in the director’s chair. Oren Uziel (who collaborated with Tancharoen to make the short film) will pen the script. No word as to whether or not the actors in the web series (Michael Jai White, Jeri Ryan, Ian Anthony Dale, etc.) will reprise their role in the reboot feature film. In the end, Kevin’s wish was granted.
Update: Tancharoen shared his vision for the movie with EW. Choice quote right here: “Up to this point, we’ve only been talking ‘rated R.’ I like realistic takes on things, I like it when it’s a little darker and grittier. And I want the martial arts to feel real as opposed to balletic and super-choreographed. It needs to feel brutal, because that’s the nature of the video game itself.” As long as he can recreate what he did in the original short film (and with a much higher budget from New Line I’m sure he’ll exceed expectations) I trust Tancharoen will have no problem injecting new life into the aging, classic franchise.
[Via Deadline]