Mortal Kombat: Legacy is a web series based on the Mortal Kombat games. The series ran for two seasons, from 2011 to 2013, on the Machinima YouTube channel. Legacy was initially pitched to Warner Bros by director Kevin Tancharoen as a feature film taking place in a gritty, realistic reimagining of the Mortal Kombat universe. Tancharoen was instead greenlit to create a web series which, with help from Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon, incorporated more traditional elements of the series.
Tancharoen's proof-of-concept was the self-funded 2010 short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth. Despite only having a budget of $7,500, the short featured some impressive starpower: Michael Jai White and Jeri Ryan starred as Jax Briggs and Sonya Blade respectively, and world champion martial artist Matt Mullins portrayed Johnny Cage. The three would reprise their roles for the first season of Legacy.
A third season entitled Mortal Kombat X: Generations was filmed but never released. It planned to incorporate new characters introduced in Mortal Kombat X. Most notably, MKX newcomer Kung Jin was portrayed by Lewis Tan, who would go on to portray Cole Young in the 2021 film.
Summary[]
The first season acts as an anthology, featuring one or two-part episodes focusing on one character or a group of characters each. The episodes detail the origin stories of many popular MK characters.
Contrary to the ultra-real, gritty, crime-story tone seen in MK: Rebirth, Legacy follows more closely to the established storylines from the games, including much of the east-Asian inspired mysticism and fantasy elements. The characters follow their videogame counterparts much more closely than the interpretations seen in Rebirth. Episode 6 is an exception to this and begins with a title card written by Tancharoen that reads: "The following episode represents my different take on the Mortal Kombat Universe. I think it combines the perfect amount of gritty realism mixed with a hint of mysticism." The episode follows a powerless Raiden crash-landing on Earth, only to be institutionalized and suffer under the barbaric medical practices of doctors who refuse to believe he's the Thunder God.
Cast[]
Season 1[]
- Ryan Robbins as Raiden
- Matt Mullins as Johnny Cage
- Tahmoh Penikett as Kurtis Stryker
- Johnson Phan as Shang Tsung
- Jolene Tran as Mileena
- Sam Tjhia as Kitana
- Ian Anthony Dale as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion
- Kevan Ohtsji as Bi-Han/Sub-Zero
- Michael Jai White as Jax Briggs
- Jeri Ryan as Sonya Blade
- Darren Shahlavi as Kano
- Beatrice Ilg as Sindel
- Aleks Paunovic as Shao Kahn
- Peter Shinkoda as Sektor
- Shane Warren Jones as Cyrax/Hydro
- Fraser Aitcheson as Baraka
- Michael Rogers as Quan Chi
- Kirby Morrow as King Jerrod
Season 2[]
- David Lee McInnis replaces Ryan Robbins as Raiden
- Casper Van Dien replaces Matt Mullins as Johnny Cage
- Eric Jacobus replaces Tahmoh Penikett as Kurtis Stryker
- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa replaces Johnson Phan as Shang Tsung
- Michelle Lee replaces Jolene Tran as Mileena
- Sam Tjhia returns as Kitana
- Eric Steinberg replaces Kevan Ohtsji as Bi-Han/Sub-Zero
- Dallas Liu portrays a young Bi-Han
- Ian Anthony Dale returns as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion
- Ethan Josh Lee portrays a young Hanzo
- Harry Shum Jr. as Kuai Liang
- Forrest Wheeler portrays a young Kuai Liang
- Brian Tee as Liu Kang
- Mark Dacascos as Kung Lao
- Dan Southworth as Kenshi
- Kim Do Nguyen as Ermac
Non-game characters[]
- Victor Lucas as himself, host of The Electric Playground.
- Ed Boon as Ed Goodman, TV producer.
- Tracy Spiridakos as Blue, a manic-depressive mental patient who befriends Raiden.
- Peter Hall as Dr. Gadsen, a psychiatrist who attempts to treat Raiden.
- Maurissa Tancharoen as Kana, the wife of Scorpion.
- Colin Foo as Lin Kuei Grand Master, current head of the Chinese Lin Kuei clan.
- Serge Houde as The Doctor, the head of the Lin Kuei's Cyber Initiative, and the surgeon who replaces Kano's missing eye with a robotic prosthetic.
Mortal Kombat X: Generations[]
Legacy director Kevin Tancharoen announced in late 2013 he would be leaving both the series and the film reboot.[1] Tancharoen chose Garrett Warren, stunt coordinator for the project, to take over directing for the third season, entitled Mortal Kombat X: Generations. The show was set to introduce many new characters from Mortal Kombat X to live-action for the first time. Warren appeared on RealmKast in 2021 and revealed some details about the project, including characters, castings, the visual style, and the soundtrack.[2] Warren was inspired by the X-Ray Attacks in Mortal Kombat (2011) and MKX and included them throughout the series.
The season was fully completed but remains unreleased due to the brand's priorities changing at the time of production.
Confirmed Castings[]
- Casper Van Dien as Johnny Cage[3]
- Mark Dacascos as Kung Lao [4]
- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Shang Tsung[5]
- Lewis Tan as Kung Jin[6]
Confirmed Characters[]
Mortal Kombat Legacy Episode List[]
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Episodes
Trivia[]
- Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon makes a cameo appearance as TV producer Ed Goodman in the episode "Johnny Cage."
- In the second season, some of the quotes are battle cries from Mortal Kombat (2011).
- The cyborgs Hydro, Cyrax, and Sektor all share Cyrax's primary design from Mortal Kombat (2011).
- In the first trailer, Cyrax and Sektor were shown without CGI effects, but upon release, they appeared as fully CG models.
- Nearly all of the text on the computer monitor detailing the helmet design is taken in verbatim from this document.
- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa's appearance as Shang Tsung in Season 2 is the only recast acknowledged in-show. In Season 2, Episode 9, Liu Kang tells the sorcerer he is unimpressed with his "new incarnation."
References[]
- ↑ Kyle Hilliard (2013-10-26). Mortal Kombat Movie Director Leaves The Project. GameInformer. Retrieved on 2021-05-13.
- ↑ Director Garrett Warren on Mortal Kombat Generations. RealmKast (2021-05-14).
- ↑ Casper Van Dien (2014-06-17). It has Begun! #MKL3 training at 6000 feet above Sea Level'. Retrieved on 2021-05-13.
- ↑ Casper Van Dien (2014-09-04). Casper Van Dien: 'Training for Mortal Kombat with @Mark_Dacascos' (Facebook).
- ↑ Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Will Reprise His Role as Shang Tsung (Forum) (2015-01-16). “GOIN' WORK ON "MK LEGACY 3" ON MON. CAN'T WAIT”
- ↑ Lewis Tan (2019-06-12). "Shame this never got released, this was killer. #MortalKombat #kungjin #mortalkombatx @noobde" (Twitter).
External Links[]
- "Mortal Kombat: Legacy" at the Internet Movie Database
- Both seasons on Youtube, pay to watch only.