New Line Cinema and Threshold Entertainment released Paul Anderson’s “Mortal Kombat” back in 1995, three years after the same-named video game caused a stir verging on moral panic for allowing players to indulge in shocking violence. These were the days when gaming wasn’t an accepted mainstream practice, instead seen as a refuge for social misfits and potential school shooters; the people who knew “Mortal Kombat” were the ones playing it, and everyone else knew it from cultural pearl clutching.

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FINISH HIM! Well, pick your poison. Would you rather engulf your opponent in flames or drop them onto a floor of spikes? These are just two choices for casual and hardcore gamers alike in “Mortal Kombat,” still going strong nearly 30 years later. Still, let’s not forget that the gratuitous violence in Ed Boon and John Tobias’ title helped paved the way for creating the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

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Choose your fighter. Hot on the heels of today’s Liu Kang casting news, The Hollywood Reporter says several actors have signed on for roles in the next “Mortal Kombat” movie being produced by James Wan and currently slated for a spring 2021 release.

A few hours after Chinese actor Ludi Lin— best known for roles in 2017’s “Power Rangers” reboot along with last fall’s “Aquaman”— was set to rip out some spines and pulverize brains alongside Joe Taslim of “The Raid” fame, THR now is adding to more names to the mix: Mehcad Brooks (“Supergirl,” “True Blood”), Tadanobu Asano (“Thor,” “Thor: Ragnarok”) and Sisi Stringer, who would be making her big-screen debut.

Continue reading Choose Your Fighters: ‘Mortal Kombat’ Casts A New Crew Of Killer Champions at The Playlist.