A youthful Kenshi faces a realm of darkness in the first trailer for the next animated feature from Mortal Kombat Legends. A very different future awaits as Snow Blind tells a tale quite unlike any with some surprising twists and character appearances. Watch:

Kuai Liang (Ron Yuan) is a wizened old master guiding the blinded Kenshi (Manny Jacinto) to navigate a Mad Max inspired future threatened by King Kano (David Wenham) and his marauding gang of Black Dragon. Shang Tsung (Artt Butler) lingers, overseeing a motley crew of confirmed characters and maybe even one or two unexpected cameos.

The trailer features a first look at grungy redesigned versions of Kira (Courtney Taylor), Kobra (Yuri Lowenthal), and Kabal (Keith Silverstein), with Ferra/Torr, Erron Black, a fiery and moltenous Tremor (Imari Williams), and a featureless fellow walking from an explosion who may just be another rarely acknowledged MK Special Forces sub-boss: No Face.

The first two MK Legends animated features played fast and loose with the finer details of series canon, but it seems with their third installment the franchise will go in a completely original direction, using a new animation style to create a vision for a unique future Earthrealm. It takes the future premise of Mortal Kombat X even further into a Mad Max-like world of desparation.

What do you think of the apocalyptic new vision for Mortal Kombat? Share your reactions to the trailer in the comments below and find & discuss more in the Media & Merchandise forum!

With first word of an animated sequel arriving via online retailers comes official confirmation of Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind! Voice actors reveal a cast of Black Dragon rogues and our first look at a wandering swordsman. Take a look:

The IGN exclusive reveal shows a squatting swordsman opposite a burly traveler in a barren landscape. This seems to be Kenshi, who arrives as a new focal character voiced by Manny Jacinto. The sword saint will seek the snowy services of Sub-Zero, now voiced by Scorpion actor Ron Yuan, having turned his back on a warrior's life since last year's sequel.

The criminal mercenary Kano returns as a surprising force determined to conquer Earthrealm one town at a time. The MK Legends animated universe will recast Kano as the one responsible for taking cocky Kenshi's eyesight, flanked by a full roster of Black Dragon mercenaries confirmed by IGN's cast reveal. Rick Morales will produce his third animated MK installment, with screenwriter Jeremy Adams also returning from Scorpion's Revenge and Battle of the Realms.

• Kenshi - Manny Jacinto
• Kano - David Wenham
• Sub-Zero/Kuai Liang - Ron Yuan
• Kabal - Keith Silverstein
• Kira - Courtney Taylor
• Kobra - Yuri Lowenthal
• Shang Tsung & "Lin Kuei" - Artt Butler
• Tremor - Imari Williams
• Unspecified - Patrick Seitz, Lei Yin, Sumalee Montano, Debra Wilson, and Keston John

Lord of the Rings and 300 star David Wenham will lend a distinct voice familiar to Australians and international audiences alike. The Black Dragon will fill out their number with Mortal Kombat: Deception recruits Kira (Courtney Taylor) & Kobra (Yuri Lowenthal), with Special Forces & MKX cult favourite Tremor (Imari Williams). No word on Jarek, Tasia, or No Face, with several actors unaccounted for.

In Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind, Kano is hellbent on taking over Earthrealm, viciously attacking town after town with the aid of three cold-blooded Black Dragon mercenaries. Those who don’t submit are annihilated. One young man won’t bend the knee to Kano: Kenshi.

Cocky and undisciplined, Kenshi loses both his eyesight and his confidence after Kano and his clan attack him. Kenshi then comes under the tutelage of Kuai Liang, now retired and reluctant to train Kenshi – but also the only fighter powerful enough to challenge Kano.

Along the way, Kenshi rediscovers the hope he had lost and a possible path to redemption … but will that be enough to stop Kano and save Earthrealm?

The Mortal Kombat Legends moniker seemed destined for a series of animated features -- and it looks as if a third installment could be on the way. A new blu-ray listing for "Snow Blind" has given fans the first indication of a new adventure. Take a closer look:

Multiple physical media sites began listing Snow Blind with HD Movie Source cited in July. German movie site Bluray-disc.de and others have since begun posting box art, showing Kenshi front & centre for a story that will reportedly team the blind sword saint with a reluctant Sub-Zero. Take a look at the 4K Ultra HD display below [via @TheDiscFather]:

Kenshi and Sub-Zero became acquainted in Mortal Kombat: Deception when the Lin Kuei Grandmaster helped Kenshi recover from wounds sustained battling his Red Dragon nemesis. Their interactions in the reboot series timeline have been minimal, seeing the pair on opposite sites during early sequences in Mortal Kombat X.

It looks as if roles could be reversed in Snowblind if a synopsis for the animated movie is correct. The plot describes the swordsman seeking a Kuai Liang who has withdrawn from the warrior's life, in the hopes of defeating a 'power-hungry' Kano, who has taken up an unlikely conquest of Earthrealm.

The sneaky and power-hungry Kano is determined to take over Earthrealm soul by soul. Together with three cold-blooded Black Dragon Mercenaries, he attacks one defenseless city after another. His demand is simple: submission or death. Kenshi, a rebellious warrior, calls on Kuai Liang, the only one strong enough to take on Kano, for his help, but Kuai Liang is no longer a warrior and Kenshi isn't disciplined enough to defeat Kano. If Kuai Liang cannot remove the doubts that hold him back, Earthrealm will fall. It's about everything and the consequences have never been as serious as they are now!

Like most multimedia adaptations; MK Legends has reinvented familiar series mythology for a completely original take on the franchise, but with Shang Tsung on the cover, we have to wonder if Kano is working alone to consume Earth's souls -- or if it's really Kano at all.

A similar leak revealed the second MK Legends movie, and a LinkedIn credit for Christopher Redman as Senior Video Editor for Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind could suggest a trailer isn't far away.

What do you think about the third movie's character spotlights? What do you hope to see from the new plot? Share your thoughts in the comments below and find & discuss more in the Media & Merchandise forum.

After the success of last year's Mortal Kombat feature film in theatres and streaming -- it comes as little surprise that a sequel to the franchise reboot is moving forward. New reports have stirred interest, reaffirming Simon McQuoid as returning director. Read on:

Deadline reports the slightly underwhelming news of a sequel moving forward at New Line, with sources informing them Simon McQuoid will again return to helm a follow-up installment. Jeremy Slater (Marvel's Moon Knight) joins as new writer seeking to learn lessons from the first film to deliver a "satisfying" second go around.

[Related Article: Mortal Kombat Aims to Embrace Weird Universe in Movie Sequel]

The Australian commercial director was first publicly attached to the video game series in late 2016, enduring a prolonged five year phase of development with high-profile producer James Wan before making his theatrical directing debut. Wan remarked upon the many creative & business trials of reviving the series, in 2018.

Mortal Kombat has continued to be an internal engagement ratings benchmark for streaming service HBO Max, while also outperforming expectations with a modest theatrical outing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite significant interest in Mortal Kombat's return to the movies twenty-four years after Mortal Kombat: Annihilation -- and publicly promised aspirations to "do it right" -- the finished product proved controversial with die-hard fans of the franchise who balked at its many deviations from firmly established lore. The reboot drew surprising comparisons to its notorious 1997 predecessor.

The notable absence of Johnny Cage from the pre-tournament plotline has led to several noteworthy submissions from interested actors, while Simon McQuoid himself has discussed potential for a sequel laden with new and returning characters.

[Related Articles: Mortal Kombat Producer on Johnny Cage & Rain Omissions]

Are you excited for the return of Simon McQuoid as director? What do you hope to see from a sequel movie? Share your thoughts in the comments below and go deeper into movies in the Media & Merchandise forum!

Raiden has been an icon of the series since its arcade inception, but fans who discovered Mortal Kombat through home ports to popular gaming consoles, the 1995 feature film, or other licensed media of the nineties, came to know the thunder god by a slightly different name -- and it seems one of his co-creators was not happy with the change!

"Rayden" was the phonetically appropriate alternate spelling adopted by Acclaim Entertainment -- responsible for distributing the games to Sega, Nintendo, and other consoles -- and other multimedia licensors, such as Threshold Entertainment, who produced MK films, live-action television, and cartoons.

The change famously avoided potential conflict with 1990 Tecmo scrolling shoot 'em up Raiden, while also bringing the character's name in line with common pronunciation distinct from its origins in Japanese mythology.

For series co-creator Ed Boon, the alteration was always "overly cautious" and the developer ultimately rejected requests to align arcade versions with the tweak. He described his "hate" for the alternate in a recent tweet responding to MK Online affiliate tabmok99's fan video on the subject (embedded below).

I always (as in ALWAYS) hated seeing Raiden’s name spelled with a Y. I remember arguing with Acclaim about their (overly cautious) decision to change the spelling…. andrefusing to change ours when they asked us to… to be consistent. Such a bad decision. ????????

— Ed Boon (@noobde) July 17, 2022

The multimedia exposure of the "Rayden" spelling meant it far outnumbered its arcade inspiration, but with Mortal Kombat 4 [pictured below] and subsequent installments, the source material has become the dominant example, reinstating the character's name as originally intended and rendering "Rayden" a curiosity of the past.

Its been almost thirty years since Carlos Pesina embodied the thunderer for the original game. Watch how his iconic headwear caused difficulties in archival footage from filming sessions recently unearthed from Ed Boon's personal collection.

Did Raiden's name ever cause any confusion for you? Did you mistake him for Fatal Fury or Metal Gear characters? Share your thoughts in the comments below and go deeper into retro in the 2D Kombat Klassics forum as we count down to the 30th Anniversary of Mortal Kombat!