Mortal Kombat's Lewis Tan Cast In Quantum Spy Series

English actor and martial artist Lewis Tan has been cast in the leading role in the upcoming adaptation of the David Ignatius novel Quantum Spy, according to Variety. No production start date or other casting announcements for the project have yet been made, but given that the adaptation was previously in development in NBC, it's expected as of this writing to remain a series.

Quantum Spy, published in 2017, is an espionage thriller about the race between the United States and China to build the world's first hyper-fast quantum computer in their respective secret research labs. Ignatius, who is an editor and columnist for The Washington Post, has been a prolific novelist for many years and has specialized in novels involving suspense and espionage. Tan will star and co-executive produce on the pilot, in collaboration with Boies/Schiller Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Flame Ventures and 24's Tony Krantz.

Tan will play the newly assigned Chinese-American CIA officer Harris Chang, who is tasked with hunting down a Chinese mole, who has compromised the American lab. From there, according to an official synopsis, "he's caught in an ever-expanding maze of spymasters, assassins and temptations turning the investigation into a personal obsession." The show is also being described as "action-packed" and "sexy."

More immediately on the horizon, Tan plays Cole Young in Mortal Kombat. That movie is due to hit theaters and HBO Max on April 23, and will be available on the streaming service for one month before it moves to other on-demand platforms. While you wait for that, you check out the brand new take on the classic Mortal Kombat theme.