As the start of photography draws near for the Mortal Kombat movie reboot, two more major roles from the original game's lineup have been filled! A new report reveals Scorpion and Shang Tsung have joined the growing cast.
Variety has the scoop on the major casting news, revealing Singaporean actor Chin Han will play Shang Tsung, and Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada will become Scorpion. Both actors will be familiar faces to fans familiar with neighbouring genre cinema.
Chin Han and Hiroyuki Sanada (via Variety)
Hiroyuki Sanada has become a recurring character actor in Hollywood since appearing in 1998 supernatural Japanese thriller Ring. He appeared in various featured martial arts roles in The Last Samurai, The Wolverine, and 47 Ronin, and recently appeared as Musashi in HBO's Westworld. He was also memorable as Captain Kaneda in cult sci-fi thriller Sunshine, and opposed Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye as a mob boss in Avengers: Endgame.
Chin Han became part of the zeitgeist with his appearance as mob accountant Lau in Christopher Nolan's definitive 2008 superhero epic The Dark Knight. He more recently featured as Togusa in the controversial live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell.
Shang Tsung was the architect of the Shaolin tournament in the original Mortal Kombat video game plot, gathering various martial artists to his island for a tournament to decide the fate of Earthrealm. Scorpion was an interloper seeking vengeance from beyond the grave against competitor Sub-Zero, to be played by Joe Taslim.
How much of these original plots will be retained in the big screen adaptation remains to be seen. At 58 years old, Hiroyuki Sawada is notably senior to much of the cast, and typical depictions of Hanzo Hasashi (aka; Scorpion). The 1995 feature film directed by Paul Anderson infamously recast Scorpion and Sub-Zero as 'slaves under Shang Tsung's power'.
[Related Video: Paul Anderson on Mortal Kombat & Adapting Video Game Mythology]
Today's news comes on the back of reported casting of Kano and Sonya Blade. The recent additions join Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, and more. Simon McQuoid directs his first feature, with filming to begin in Australia next month.
What do you think of the latest addition of these two major characters? Share your thoughts in the comments below and follow all the news & discussion on the Media & Merchandise forum!
