Actor and martial artist Joe Taslim has made a strong impression as the heavily promoted lead antagonist of Mortal Kombat. The movie reinvents Bi-Han as an ice cold killer from 400 years in the past, and according to comments from the actor in a recent podcast -- we could see plenty more of him in the future! Read on for the full story:

Variety reports that Joe Taslim was a guest on the Just For Variety podcast, where he discussed the prospective future for the franchise and revealed he is signed on for four more appearances. He told Variety: "If this one’s successful, maybe we do more".

The star of The Raid was the first actor signed for the feature film reboot, and his athleticism and martial arts prowess were a feature of a recent promotional featurette. He has previously addressed his character's transformation into Noob Saibot, discussing the humanity and darkness in the character without directly confirming any future appearances.

Taslim also told Variety about his past with MK growing up in South Sumatra as a 12 year old. "We were poor so I didn’t have the console", so he waited to take his turn playing Mortal Kombat at a popular friend's house: "... you get there and there are like 10 kids lining up. Who wins keeps playing… so it takes me to get to my part like 40 minutes."

Indonesia was one of several international markets to receive the movie early, where the film has performed well in opening. Joe Taslim was in attendence representing the cast for the theatrical premiere [pictured above].

Mortal Kombat will officially be showing in wide release starting this Friday, April 23rd. Fans in the United States will also be able to stream it via HBO Max for 31 days. Watch the red band trailer and tell us what you hope to see from sequels in the comments below. Find and discuss more stories in the Media & Merchandise forum!

When it comes to Christmas and Mortal Kombat tis truly better to give than receive. Now you can celebrate finishing your enemies and the winter holiday by hanging Sub-Zero from the tree -- as an officially released Christmas ornament, that is!

Hallmark unveiled their klassic Kuai Liang decoration as part of a new season of pop culture themed ornaments and seasonal tchotchkes. He looks positively frosty as a 2.3" W x 5" H x 1.9" D plastic ornament inspired by his iconic Mortal Kombat II win pose.

The game-inspired sculpt is by artist Alex Ho and comes nicely packaged in a red & white Hallmark Keepsake box for safe keeping, and gift giving. Performing this friendship will set you back $17.99 and won't unlock until its official release on July 10th.

So far this is the only Mortal Kombat fighter coming to Christmas. You can find other offerings in the 2021 Hallmark Keepsake Dream Book and pre-order Sub-Zero on the website. Who else would you like to see? Tell us in the comments below and find more goodies in the Media & Merchandise forum!

Mortal Kombat is just days from officially opening around the world -- but if you can't wait that long Warner Bros has you covered! Seven minutes from the much talked about opening scene has been released online. Beware of spoilers:

Bi-Han (Joe Taslim) leads a violent incursion into the "Hanzo Hasashi Compound" where the once and future Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his family appear to live a relatively tranquil existence. The contemporary rivalry of the video games is transposed to feudal Japan, year 1617, where the ninja is away gathering water when he hears the screams of his dying family.

Hanzo returns to find his wife and child frozen together in a shroud of ice. He has his first taste of revenge when he defeats masked Lin Kuei warriors prowling the compound in a dynamic action sequence, leading to a face-to-face showdown with his arch-nemesis.

Although chronologically removed from the classic video game storyline: the characters engage with an air of authenticity, speaking Japanese and Chinese dialogue, respectively. Scorpion doesn't understand his enemy's words, but the intent sets up their future collision later in the movie.

The clip also reveals a dragon-shaped birthmark on Hanzo Hasashi's wrist. The birthmark conceit, invented for the movie, will tie Scorpion to the future plight of new character Cole Young (Lewis Tan), who becomes BI-Han's target in the future when he works for Shang Tsung (Chin Han).

[Watch: Mortal Kombat Knowledge & Violence Featurette]

Mortal Kombat is out now in some regions, but officially invades Earthrealm starting April 23rd! Watch the Meet the Kast featurette and official red band trailer to prepare for battle. Find and discuss more stories in the Media & Merchandise forum.

For decades fans of pop culture have been vexed and perplexed by Hollywood's knack for radically altering the popular properties they license for the big screen. Mortal Kombat has been no exception: heavily promoting a character invented for the film. Writer Greg Russo discussed the unlikely star of the new movie in a recent interview. Full story:

Speaking with pop culture and lifestyle site Inverse: screenwriter Greg Russo explained an original creation was already part of the project when he inherited a previous script in 2016. "It was something the studio wanted", he explains.

Rumors of a new lead protagonist began circulating in 2018, and despite aggressive rebukes from James Wan and Ed Boon, the character only appeared to undergo a slight name and style change before materializing in the first featured preview. This identification came sixteen months after Lewis Tan publicly joined the cast.

Russo revealed one of the most substantive changes he made was connecting the character more deeply with the world of the series. "... it had no tie to the mythology of Mortal Kombat. I thought, if we’re going to do it, I want to make sure we do it right and that this character fits into the mythology in an organic way."

"Doing it right" was a mantra James Wan shared in interviews around the time Russo joined as screenwriter. As explained by producer Todd Garner, the result is a character who "sees the eyes of anyone who's never played the game". He'll offer new viewers a point of view as he discovers the world of Mortal Kombat, and as revealed in the official synopsis, his hidden heritage.

In “Mortal Kombat,” MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage—or why Outworld's Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family's safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao and rogue mercenary Kano, as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana—the immense power from within his soul—in time to save not only his family, but to stop Outworld once and for all?

Similar to reasoning offered by the director, Russo cites the series' expanding roster as justification for the introduction, but he's self-aware about the pitfalls, also noting: "I’ve seen movie franchises where they bring in a new character and that character is the poster child of the movie, and I felt that was wrong". He also assures classic characters won't be under represented: "They're going to do their cool shit and no one is going to feel they’re in a corner doing nothing."

Mortal Kombat has enjoyed strong box office in limited international markets and will soon officially be in wide release and streaming to HBO Max on April 23rd. Prepare yourself with the latest behind-the-scenes featurette and official red band trailer.

With just over a week until Mortal Kombat is released theatrically around the world -- a new featurette is offering another glimpse behind-the-scenes of the violence of the new movie. Watch:

Brutal fighting and "sickeningly violent" fatalities are a focus of the new featurette, which highlights the abilities of the actors who were hired to infuse the film with authentic martial arts through a prism of acting. Director Simon McQuoid maintains a desire to "make it real".

Special acknowledgement is given to Joe Taslim, whose fast-paced martial arts are compared to Bruce Lee in the need to slow them down for the camera. Actor Mehcad Brooks (Jax) describes the realization of what he was in for after watching The Raid: the 2011 movie that made Taslim a star.

The featurette anchors the film's origins in the first arcade Mortal Kombat video game, but the game isn't necessarily it's main jumping off point. Footage from the game amusingly shows one of the main characters who won't be in the film.

The director misidentifies early installments as 8-bit, but uses the early technology of the first games to frame his desire to elevate the characters to a level they haven't seen before. This expression might provoke fans who've played recent installments, but speaks to efforts to combine gaming iconography with historical reference. Hiroyuki Sanada, playing a Scorpion transposed for the film's plot to feudal Japan, speaks of infusing his fighting performance with Japanese reference, while also creating distinctions from screen rival Sub-Zero.

Fans of the games will almost certainly be excited by new footage that shows the fight between Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and Kabal (Daniel Nelson). The preview shows a clear close-up of the film's adaptation of Kabal's iconic mask, and also shows the fighter using purple-highlighted speed to streak around his opponent. The effect is very reminiscent of his recent appearance in Mortal Kombat 11.

[Related Article: Mortal Kombat Meet the Kast Featurette]

Mortal Kombat has enjoyed a strong overseas opening weekend and will officially be released theatrical and streaming to HBO Max (for 31 days in the US) on April 23rd! Watch the official red band trailer and join the conversation in the Media & Merchandise forum!