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might provoke fans who've played recent installments, but speaks to efforts to combine gaming iconography with historical reference.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!