The gears of the great promotion machine have begun grinding out details from April's Mortal Kombat cinematic reboot, but apparently some of the information has been in error. Writer Greg Russo has addressed some of fans' concerns about character specifics via social media. Read on for clarifications:

Responding to worries raised by the Entertainment Weekly preview article via Twitter; Russo confirmed that anomalous references to "Outer World", instead of Outworld, were indeed a typing error [by EW]. The EW source article has since been corrected.

He also expanded upon the details of Sub-Zero's present day return in the film, clarifying that his powers of cryomancy will have fully developed when Shang Tsung sends him to attack Cole Young, rather than having been magically granted to him.

In the new film's action-packed opening sequence, Bi-Han will have fought his rival Scorpion hundreds of years in the past, rather than just prior to the MK tournament, as in game canon. The change is reminiscent of the webseries Mortal Kombat: Legacy, which also transposed their battles to feudal Japan.


Composite image showing more of Sub-Zero's mask in the HBO Max trailer.

These typos have apparently persisted within official press material as well. The writer revealed references to Raiden as an "Elder God" and Shang Tsung as "Emperor of Outworld" are both mistakes that don't reflect their status within the movie.

Fans have known Shao Kahn as Emperor of Outworld since Mortal Kombat II. His desire to conquer Earthrealm was the overarching threat of the first three installments of the game series. Shang Tsung appears subservient in all three: as an emissary at the Mortal Kombat tournament, and servant the Emperor thereafter.

Traditionally a hierarchy has also existed separating Mortal Kombat's gods, such as Raiden and Fujin, from typically formless Elder Gods. Raiden briefly ascended to Elder Godhood after MK4, but relinquished his position in its sequel - Deadly Alliance. More recent games have blurred these distinctions with the introduction of playable Elder Goddess Cetrion, and the Titan Kronika.

[Related Article: Mortal Kombat Movie Set References MK11 Fighters]

Speaking to the absence of Johnny Cage in pre-release materials, Russo ambiguously says "[n]o one will be replaced" and "[n]o one has been forgotten". Whether or not this actually confirms the klassic characters' inclusion in the 2021 film remains to be seen.

Mortal Kombat will tell the story of original character Cole Young as he explores a lost heritage and mysterious dragon birthmark. The movie debuts in limited domestic theatrical release and streaming to HBO Max on April 16th.

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