Third Mortal Kombat movie filming in September - Report

Last month, a bankruptcy court lawsuit provided Mortal Kombat movie fans with a glimmer of hope that the fighting franchise could hit theaters for the third time. The complaint, brought by original Mortal Kombat film producer Larry Kasanoff, mentioned that a third feature was in the works, with a...

Last month, a bankruptcy court lawsuit provided Mortal Kombat movie fans with a glimmer of hope that the fighting franchise could hit theaters for the third time. The complaint, brought by original Mortal Kombat film producer Larry Kasanoff, mentioned that a third feature was in the works, with a script, talent, and shooting locations all lined up.

That film may be closer than the next installment in the gory gaming series, judging by a San Gabriel Valley Tribune feature on the martial artist and actor underneath the scorpion mask. Eighth-degree black belt Chris Casamassa told the paper that he will be reprising his role for a third Mortal Kombat movie, with filming set to begin in September.

The original Mortal Kombat film was made with a $25 million budget in 1995, and went on to garner $122 million in box office receipts worldwide. The success of the movie prompted Kasanoff's production company to create a number of follow-up projects in quick succession. There was a feature-film sequel, 1997's Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, the Saturday-morning cartoon Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, the TV series Mortal Kombat: Conquest, and even a touring stage show.

186 Comments

  • RaikirBLaZE

    Posted Jul 20, 2009 1:53 pm PT

    Well first of all not PG-13. I liked the first movie, it was a bit cheesy, but did the game some justice. But like the movie title, MK: Annihilation annihilated the series. I really hope they get serious and make a good third one (actually its supposed to be a reboot).

  • lovelikerockits

    Posted Jul 16, 2009 4:47 pm PT

    wow, I have been keeping my eye on this movie for years!!!! I remember after the second movie chris casamassa had a website and he put up his aim screen name for fans to keep in touch. I remember chatting with him about the 3rd movie and at the time he said it was in development and that he would start shooting soon...and wow that was about 8 years ago lol I was a huge mk fan back then and have been wondering all this time when a third movie was coming but all we keep getting is some random news like this...I have heard that the 3rd movie was finally shooting at least 10 different times over the years lol

  • Glade_Gnarr

    Posted Jul 13, 2009 1:59 pm PT

    There's something wrong with that article, there are no MK movie fans.

  • aura_enchanted

    Posted Jul 13, 2009 3:01 am PT

    as long as the actors are killed off for real.. i will have no qualms for this film.. but after that put this series in the coffin please and if you even CONSIDER double dragon or street fighter imma kick your teeth in.

  • Sheiko

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 7:33 pm PT

    That or have live action scenes of the horrible directors being killed fatality style.

  • izmickey

    Posted Jul 10, 2009 1:40 pm PT

    Streetfighter movies sucked, 2nd mortal kombat movie sucked. I think games like these should only be made anime style.

  • faatui06

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 11:20 pm PT

    why is the third movie take so long.because mortal kombat games are doing better and i hope then come out with anther mortal kombat vs DC with a part 2.

  • ayanematrix

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:21 pm PT

    While I loved the first movie, the cartoon and tv show - Kristiana Loken is just gorgeous! - I can't stomach watching a repeat of the badly put together second film. On the other hand, Chris Casamassa has a fairly cool name. *thumbs up*

    You can count me out on this movie altogether, much like the Resident Evil Extinction movie.

  • zaiwen

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 7:06 pm PT

    sequels are made due to the fact that its predecessors have a good amount of success, why even bother making a 3rd one when the 1st 2 MK flicks were a spit in the face in the MK franchise.. reminds of me of the line where Christopher Lambert's character Raiden, that in a feeble attempt to shock viewers said Shao Khan is his brother ROFLMAO, stick to this storyline... if they want a story, & just plain old action.. then base the movie of MK Armageddon

  • DiabolicalX

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 6:25 pm PT

    Kasanoff was quick to capitalise on the success of the first movie with a series of follow up projects...which sucked

  • FoxExecutive

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 5:26 pm PT

    @ahpuck

    Yep, totally agree. The first one was actually worth watching and although it didn't have the greatest effects, the story was pretty coherent for a game to movie adaptation and the acting was fairly good. Mortal Kombat was probably one of the best movie adaptations. The second on the other hand was just god awful.

    First, quite a few actors were changed, including Christopher Lambert as Raiden. Christopher Lambert wasn't great as Raiden but come on, it's Christopher "There can be only one!" Lambert. The acting was terrible overall and the CGI was worse than the first movie. The final fight at the end was just positively atrocious with the Animality abilities. And to top it all off they killed off Johnny Cage! Hopefully, the third film is much better than the second.

  • hannify

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 5:04 pm PT

    woo mortal kombat movie.

    i love the music for it

  • S_Pac_316

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 4:58 pm PT

    I hope this will be good...
    The first one rocked, the second one sucked and the TV series and cartoon also sucked.

  • nemes1s3000

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 4:57 pm PT

    I couldn't be more excited. I mean sure the first two were cheezy, corny and the second movie had characters stamped with wrong names, but I enjoyed watching them alot, the action and characters were fun, and since it's been 12 years since the second movie came out, technology has drastically changed, who knows what they might achieve in making the third. Looking forward to it.

  • ahpuck

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 3:23 pm PT

    if it's close in quality to the first one, it shouldn't be too bad. if it's anything like the second, don't even bother.

  • Dreski83

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 3:19 pm PT

    Oh man... I totally forgot about that touring show nonsense

    After seeing what they did with the recent Street Fighter movie, I'm real hesitant to watch any movies based on videogames.

  • anik786

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 2:30 pm PT

    OMG i thought this was gonna be canncelled. They been working on the script for about 3 years now. They better start shooting soon!

  • fudger2

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 2:06 pm PT

    I liked both so im happy This means more Mortal Kombat games so who cares if it sucks

  • nynthninja

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 2:02 pm PT

    Cant hurt the franchise...put it this way i saw Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat in theaters and MK wont hands effin down....MK3 cannot be worse than the Chun Li movie

  • BlueFlameBat

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 1:33 pm PT

    The first one wasn't awful, but some of the lines were downright corny. That didn't stop me from buying the Motion Pixels double-CD PC movie though. This was before DVDs took off.

  • gk_of_berea

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 12:57 pm PT

    Yeah, I really enjoyed the first movie. I watched the second one, and decided it was worth about an "eh". I hope it tops the first movie. That'd be great.

  • jjwalker9600

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 12:47 pm PT

    The first movie was great. The second installment was horrible. the TV show was decent, except it was on at 2AM in the NYC area. I hope the movie go back to the roots of the first show.

  • rgame1

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 12:45 pm PT

    totally epic!!!!!!!!!!

  • leeko_link

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 12:23 pm PT

    If they could make this movie as good as the first one, I'll check it out. The only problem I had with it is how are they gonna crammed a full generation of MK characters into one big movie? Annihilation did that and it failed, hope this one doesn't.

  • jazilla

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 12:23 pm PT

    why? it makes no sense to me. the storyline is great...for a game in which all you do is fight. For a movie, that is just not the case.

  • Dawg9000

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 12:19 pm PT

    lol at how they mention how successful everything after the first film was.

  • RockmanSRD

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 11:49 am PT

    I remember Chris Casamassa was on that WMAC Masters show, that scripted martial arts show on Fox or whatever... That show was awesome... lol.

    This could be good news. It would be nice if the could get Chris Lambert back as Raiden, he was great in that. Hopefully they can do a better job than the second movie. They jus tried to cram way too many characters into that one.

    I second everyone who mentioned the Mortal Kombat song.... That is one of the best songs... lol. It's odd that it was written by Traci Lords, that actress that used to do adult films, but now she's in a bunch of random stuff.

  • Senor_Kami

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 11:49 am PT

    If it's more like the first movie than the second one, i'll see it. The first one is actually a pretty solid fighting movie even if you took away the game license.

    The second one was an abomination though. Zero redeeming factors.

  • Heathcliff

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 11:17 am PT

    I liked the first movie and that cool techno theme song.

  • vicsrealms

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 11:15 am PT

    This might actually be worth watching. The first one while on one hand was a little corny at times (I still can't help but get a kick out of Christopher Lambert playing Raiden), it was still an enjoyable and fun movie. #2 on the other hand was an unfortunate mistake I will forgive them for (Like the unfortunately ended series). I look at #2 as a mistake that just needs to be ignored, like Blade Trinity in the Blade series of movies. It was only a mistake, they just need to get over that and make a real third movie.

  • Setsuka13

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 11:11 am PT

    This could be... good?

  • FusionRain

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 11:10 am PT

    sike i love them ha im looking forward to this hope the don't mess it up like dragonball

  • Zombie_Massacre

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 11:08 am PT

    @FusionRain: Remember it's your own opionion. Also remember that only the second one is really hated. The first one is considered a great movie by many. At least be proud of liking that one. ^_^

  • FusionRain

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 11:02 am PT

    I like the movies lol i guess it's something im not proud of

  • Chiyo18

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:48 am PT

    BOO!!! no more! the first two movies were bad enough. they actually put me off the series for years.

  • lolwotrickroll

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:47 am PT

    people actually wanted more movies?

  • Jakey16

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:43 am PT

    I can't believe im the first person to say this...
    FINISH HIM!

  • Yojimbo25

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:32 am PT

    Hopefully it will be better than the second film but I'm not holding my breath.

  • bschroth

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:29 am PT

    If they can make it at par with what the first movie was at the time then I'll buy it on blu ray no problem. Otherwise that Kasanoff guys is a tool.

  • karnovrpg

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:27 am PT

    Whatever, good luck with that. Just make it better than Legend of Chun Li (dear god, that was worse than the Van Damme flick).

  • totaleklypse

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:23 am PT

    noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. why god. not again. cue the bad trance MK theme song.

  • Lionhart_basic

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:22 am PT

    It's going to blow unless they use a good director that can bring out the grittiness of MK. They need someone like Christopher Nolan or Guillermo del Toro.

  • odoyle420

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:14 am PT

    Here is what is known about this movie it is a reboot of the series threshold entertainment is still doing it but that could have changed linden ashby has read the script and said he is going to reprise his role as johnny cage. chris casamassa will reprise his role as scorpion and the movie is titled devastation and is co produced by 20th century fox.

  • bonafiedhero

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:14 am PT

    Um there is no plot line the the MK games, it just kill one guy to get to the final fight, so how can the movie stray away from that. Stop making up retarted comments, the movies were awesome and the new one will be redic, its been a long time coming.

  • vagrantrocklee

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:11 am PT

    Why not just throw the money to the trash. What the hell, since they are going to do it. I want to see...
    Bruce Willis as Kano, Sylvester Stallone as Liu Kang, Seth Green as Johnny Cage, Tabitha Stevens(porn star) as Sonya, Sacha Baron Cohen as Raiden, Seth Rogen as Baraka, Lil Kim as Kitana, Sean Combs as himself, Martin Lawrence as Jax,Verne Troyer as Kintaro,Nicole Kidman as Jade. more to come soon...

  • -Celeste-

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:05 am PT

    Writers always screw up video game movies because they stray to far from the actual plot of the movie. This is and probably will always be the downfall of video game movies.

  • Get_Shorty

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 10:03 am PT

    Now fans are complaining because there WILL be a third Mortal Kombat film lol.

  • StillFreeTagger

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 9:55 am PT

    I wanna know if Threshold is still doing the third film or has the project been given to Warner Bros? Either way, we've been waiting for over a decade and it better cover up the mess that was Annihilation!

  • RawDeal_basic

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 9:54 am PT

    I thought the first MK film was pretty good for a videogame movie. It's the only good movie Paul Anderson ever directed.

  • Express_Diablos

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 9:39 am PT

    This will be interesting to see who they pick to play Raiden.

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