Next Mortal Kombat movie planned for 2013 - Report

It turns out the critically reviled Mortal Kombat: Annihilation didn't annihilate the fighting series' filmic potential after all. The Los Angeles Times today is reporting that Warner Bros.' New Line Cinemas division is moving ahead with plans to produce a new Mortal Kombat movie with an eye toward releasing it in 2013.

According to the Times, Kevin Tancharoen has been tapped to direct the film. Tancharoen directed the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Web series, as well as the 2009 dance movie Fame. Joining him on the movie will be his writing partner Oren Uziel. The pair previously worked on Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, a YouTube viral video that sparked the development of Legacy.

The New Line project would be the third Mortal Kombat movie to receive a theatrical release and the first since 1997's Annihilation. The original Mortal Kombat debuted in 1995 to mixed reviews and a reported worldwide box office haul of $122 million off a $25 million budget. Other multimedia Mortal Kombat ventures have included the Saturday-morning cartoon Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, the TV series Mortal Kombat: Conquest, and even a touring stage show.

The Times reports that Warner Bros. and New Line executives are hoping the movie arrives timed along with a new installment of the Mortal Kombat game. It specifically mentions the prospect of launching the movie at the same time the game debuts or including the movie and game together in a Blu-ray or DVD bundles.