Joe Taslim Reveals A Major Character’s Future In Mortal Kombat 2
Joe Taslim just let on that one of his characters will have a long future in an upcoming franchise. Get the details here about who it will be
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Mortal Kombat is set to hit theaters in the United States this week and will usher in a new look for the franchise which desperately needed a reset after its previous iterations. And now we know, from actor Joe Taslim, that this is far from a one-and-done venture for the movie and the characters. No, this is just the beginning. He recently gave an interview with Variety about the upcoming film and let on that he has a major deal already in the works. He’s signed on to do four additional movies in the Mortal Kombat franchise. We are going to be seeing this guy for years to come.
Joe Taslim will play the role of Sub-Zero in this next Mortal Kombat film and will be key to what the franchise has to offer over the long term with these stories. Obviously, no Mortal Kombat story is right without this character, it’s more about the commitment to the franchise as a whole that’s just a little bit surprising. Considering the first movie in the reboot hasn’t even hit United States audiences yet, knowing there are four more coming down the pike is a bit of a shock. But not a huge one in this day and age of franchise flicks. There are sometimes agreements put in place well in advance of a movie hitting the screen on the chance that it’s a major hit.
There’s one distinction to make here with this Joe Taslim casting that could point to what may happen in future Mortal Kombat movies. Technically, his contract has him playing Noob Saibot or Bi-Han in the films. It’s a minor distinction, but worth mentioning when considering the trajectory of the franchise. Bi-Han is a character who takes on the Sub-Zero alter-ego/persona at times, but not indefinitely. There are iterations when this label is passed down to others. That means while Taslim is committed to the franchise going forward, it’s not necessarily always going to be as Sub-Zero. They could make a change with that specific character labeling at some point.
This new version of Mortal Kombat is looking to bring the franchise more into the modern age with a brand new story around the Outworld and the Earthrealm locked in an eternal struggle for total power. Of course, like in the video game, this is done through matches between each group’s victors. This latest film has a number of franchise mainstays like Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, and Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden. A number of other franchise names are included though this movie will introduce Lewis Tan as Cole Young who is effectively replacing Johnny Cage to start.
If you want to catch up on what’s happening in this new Mortal Kombat, the first seven minutes of the movie are actually streaming for free right now. It doesn’t take long for Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero to make an appearance. And the early response to the film is strong. In the international markets, it’s already brought in close to $20 million and it’s also sitting at 65% on Rotten Tomatoes. For this type of movie, that might as well be 100%. So early indications are strong that we will have many more stories in this universe. And Joe Taslim will be around for all of them.
