New Line continues to ramp up its pre-production on its Mortal Kombat reboot, tapping Chin Han to play Shang Tsung and Hiroyuki Sanada to play Scorpion.
The two join Joe Taslim (Sub Zero), Ludi Lin (Liu Kang), Jessica McNamee (Sonya Blade), Josh Lawson (Kano), Tadanobu Asano (Raiden), Mehcad Brooks (Jackson “Jax” Bridges), Sisi Stringer (Mileena) and Lewis Tan. Simon McQuoid is directing and James Wan and Todd Garner are producing.
While the plot of the film remains unknown, the video game centers on a massive roster of character fighters from different realms in a fictional universe battling for supremacy. Greg Russo penned the current version of the screenplay.
Shang Tsung is one of the few original Mortal Kombat characters, having debuted in the first Mortal Kombat arcade game as the final boss. Shang Tsung is a powerful evil warlock and shapeshifter who absorbs the souls of those he defeats in order to maintain his youth and power. As the great sorcerer of the Outworld, Shang Tsung wants Earth defeated so he can build an empire. He is the arch-nemesis to Liu Kang, who will be portrayed by Ludi Lin. In the original pic, he was played by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.
As for Scorpion, another classic character from the original Midway game, the antihero was an undead ninja warrior seeking revenge for the person who killed him.
Mortal Kombat is set for a March 5, 2021, release.