It’s been a couple of months since the Mortal Kombat reboot was officially announced, but we now have our first piece of casting news for the anticipated film. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed The Raid actor and martial artist Joe Taslim has been chosen to play the fan-favourite character Sub-Zero in the video game adaptation. The rebooted film comes from producer James Wan (Aquaman) and will mark the directorial debut of Simon McQuoid.
Sub-Zero is one of the original playable characters from Mortal Kombat‘s first installment in 1992. He is known for his ability to harness ice, allowing him to create ice swords or shatter frozen enemies. As the franchise has developed further, Sub-Zero has also become known for an intense rivalry with Scorpion, another fan-favourite of the series. Mortal Kombat will being production in Australia later this year.
Since his breakthrough in The Raid, Taslim has gone on to star in Fast & Furious 6, Star Trek Beyond, Hit & Run and Cinemax’s Warrior TV series.
“I’m really happy and excited to be bringing another show back to Australia with Mortal Kombat, especially after having such a great experience filming Aquaman,” Wan told EW at the film’s announcement. “Now we get to experience South Australia with its scenic locations and a wealth of artistic talent to work with. It will be perfectly suited for this fantasy-action project.”
The hugely-successful Mortal Kombat video game series launched in 1992, and spawned the feature films Mortal Kombat (1995) and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation(1997), along with an animated TV series, live-action TV series and an acclaimed webseries.
Mortal Kombat will be released on March 5th, 2021