Mortal Kombat film gets new release date for theaters and HBO Max

Get over here already! The newest live-action Mortal Kombat movie is coming later than expected with a delayed release date in 2021. 

Initially expected to debut in January 2021, the film's release has been further pushed back to Apr. 16, 2021 and will be shown in theaters and exclusively on HBO Max on the same day, according to the movie poster tweeted out by the official MK movie Twitter account. 

On April 16, Mortal Kombat enters the arena. Coming to theaters and streaming exclusively on HBO Max. #MortalKombatMovie pic.twitter.com/mjB8DRhyYM

— Mortal Kombat Movie (@MKMovie) December 14, 2020

This newest live-action Mortal Kombat film adaptation of the graphically violent and fatality-fueled video game was supposed to be released in mid-2020, but has been pushed back several times because of the ongoing pandemic. Fans of the video game franchise will again have to wait three months later than its last expected release date.

Details and photos on the film have been pretty scarce though Film producer Todd Garner has promised to release the trailer in the new year, adding: "Sorry it took so long to get this out" in a Tweet.

The minimalist poster looks a lot like every other Mortal Kombat poster released before, except the classic dragon logo and menacing typeface have been modernized a little bit.

The upcoming American martial arts fantasy action film directed by Simon McQuoid (in his feature directorial debut) is based on the fighting video game of the same name created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, and originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The 2021 film will serve as reboot to the original Mortal Kombat film series and the third installment overall.

In this version, Liu Kang, one of Earth's most powerful warriors, is portrayed by Ludi Lin, who viewers may recognize from the 2017 Power Rangers film and from Black Mirror's episode Striking Vipers. The upcoming film also stars Joe Taslim as Bi-Han/Sub-Zero, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson "Jax" Briggs, Josh Lawson as Kano, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion.

By the time the new Mortal Kombat film is released, the original Paul Anderson-directed Mortal Kombat film, which is currently streaming on Netflix, will be 26 years old. 

The original 1995 film starring Robin Shou, Linden Ashby, Bridgette Wilson and Christopher Lambert, was a certified box office hit and is considered a cult classic because of its martial art sequences, atmosphere, exotic locations and production values, albeit the simple script. 

Unfortunately, the film was followed-up by the terrible and universally-panned sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation in 1997, which was so bad, it resulted in a third film being canceled. Following Midway's bankruptcy, the Mortal Kombat development team was acquired by Warner Bros. Entertainment and turned into NetherRealm Studios.

Mortal Kombat is now expected to arrive in theaters and HBO Max Apr. 16, 2021. Let's all hope that the long wait results in a flawless victory this time around.

(Images via WarnerBros.)