by: Red Maverick
Hey guys! This is the first post in a new series called "Casting Call" that I hope you all will enjoy. This series is all about the thing we fans of entertainment love doing, speculation. If so-and-so becomes a movie, who do you think should play the characters and what would be the story? That about sums up what "Casting Call" is.
Today, we'll be looking at Mortal Kombat. It has been made as movie before, but it wasn't very good, and despite its efforts it failed artistically and did not make a lot of money. "Mortal Kombat: Legacy" seems to be doing well. Reception on the trial movie and 1st season was favorable, but the 2nd season did start to have more criticism. What I'm saying is that Mortal Kombat is a hard franchise to get right, but when it is right, how awesome would it be.
This article is to show who I would cast in which roles and why in terms of the story that I want to tell with the franchise. So, let's just dive right in to the story.
Premise
First, I want to focus on the friendship of Liu Kang and Kung Lao as a source of conflict. This one of the plot points I really liked about the 2nd season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Liu Kang has always been the first protagonist in Mortal Kombat. However, instead of a turncoat story, I want to focus on the bond they had, almost like brothers. We start with what the Mortal Kombat Tournament is and the story of Shang Tsung, Goro, and the "Great Kung Lao," champion of Earth Realm.
Prologue
For those who don't know, the Mortal Kombat Tournament states that each realm can bring fighters to fight for supremacy. There is a tournament every generation, and the ruling is that, if a realm wins 10 generations in a row, that realm has the right to conquer the opposing realm. Shang Tsung held 9 straight wins until he was defeated by the "Great Kung Lao." But then, the next 8 generations of Earthrealm lost, this time, to Goro. If Goro takes two more win, Earthrealm can be conquered by Outworld.
We see silhouettes of Goro, but we don't see his face, so I won't describe his casting yet. Cut to Kung Lao training with Bo Rai Cho. We first see the face of Bo Rai Cho as renowned actor Chow Yun Fat. He commends Kung Lao's efforts, saying how much he's improved while throwing his flask to the boy. This is when we see Kung Lao, hiding his face with his hat. He reveals his face to the camera, catching the flask, and saying something to the effect of "throwing things are my specialty."
I find Chow Yun Fat to be the perfect person to play Bo Rai Cho. No, he isn't fat. He could put on some weight, or even put on a fat suit, but I don't think it's necessary. What's important is that he demonstrates his mastery of Martial Artistry despite being drunk, which I think Chow Yun Fat could do a good job of.
Now, for Kung Lao, I have numerous thoughts. Mark Dacascos did a good job in the TV series, and I wouldn't mind him reprising his role. However, the time frame for this movie will be a little different. I was thinking that this first scene would be a flashback. Here, Kung Lao will be played by Aaron Woo. Aaron Woo would do a good job of playing a young Kung Lao – aggressive, young, and full of dreams of being the next "Great Kung Lao."
Kung Lao then throws his hat, but instead of towards his trainer, he throws it to the side, towards another who is training with them. This kid flips through the air and kicks the hat to Bo Rai Cho's stomach. He lands and the camera shows his face, our first view of Liu Kang.
Liu Kang, of course, is the main protagonist of our story, the one who eventually defeats Goro, and saves Earthrealm, at least for another 9 generations. Again, Brian Tee did a great job in the show for the depressed character he's portraying, but this time, we want an enthusiastic Liu Kang, one who wants to someday fight for Earthrealm. For this, John Cho would be a good choice. He has already proven himself an action hero in the new "Star Trek" film series and he already looks the part.
Bo Rai Cho comments on Liu Kang getting way better than when he was just found, and Liu Kang says he's just getting warmed up. He punches towards the camera, causing a blackout cutting to the next scene.
We get into a scene similar to the first two episodes of "Mortal Kombat: Legacy," the Deacon City Police Department are infiltrating a factory run by the Black Dragon Gang. We see some faces we could recognise, like Quinn and No Face. However, instead of Sonya and Jax, we see Kurtis Stryker and a Chris Ballard, who would later be Kabal. Jackson Briggs enters the scene, but as a police recruit.
Kano was interesting to cast. Almost anyone who could play a gangster could have been Kano, but I found the best Kano in Manu Bennett, especially with his performance in "Arrow" as Deathstroke, where he showed that he can play up so many sides to a character, whether it's an honor-bound brother or a crazy, psycho killer.
For Kabal, I want Jai Courtney. For these characters, I want to cast people that could more or less look the same after 20 years, unlike Liu Kang ang Kung Lao, who will appear as their old selves played by different actors. Courtney has shown us he can act in Divergent, and with his recent casting in Terminator Genesys, he's is more than a little exprienced to take on the part. My first instinct to cast is Tom Hardy, except Kabal is too similar to Bane.
For Kurtis Stryker, I want to cast Tommy Lee Jones. I want him to be an old mentor to DCPD by the time 20 years have past. Make-up effects and maybe a little CGI is more than capable of removing enough years from Jones so he looks 30/40. If however budget is a concern or the idea of the old character doesn't work, Jai Courtney can also play Stryker and Tom Hardy would take his place as Kabal.
For recruit Briggs, I actually really like Michael Jai White in the TV series, but, once again, if the budget permits, and also because I believe he can capture the feel we're trying to do perfectly, I would want Chiwitel Ejiofor to play Jax. Easy to make him look younger and older, he looks the part, he's an amazing actor, and he has great physical prowess.
The cops go in, attempting to apprehend each member, but instead end up in a gun fight. We are going to witness the explosion that compromises Jax, Kabal, and Kano, and results in their respective surgeries. We are going to witness the explosion that compromises Jax, Kabal, and Kano, and results in their respective surgeries. After some fighting, a grenade gets set of, removing half of Kano's face, obliterating Jax's arms, and searing Kabal's skin and throat.
The explosion whites out into the snow, Hanzo Hasashi coming home to an empty house, looking through the the photos on the table. Memories are shown to the viewer, memories of his happy family. He starts to panic cause he realises there are no signs of his family anywhere. He shouts for them. "Kara!" "Jubei!" He goes outside to find them frozen solid. camera zooms in on Hanzo's eyes as he tears.
Hanzo Hasashi is, of course, Scorpion. I really want someone experienced to play him. The biggest thing is most of his scenes will be with a mask, and yet Scorpion is actually an emotional character. Sure he doesn't show it externally, hence the mask, but he shows a lot of internal emotional. Which is why I want him to be played by Ken Watanabe.
Lastly, we're going to Johnny Cage. Camera transitions fading from Scorpion's eye to John's. We see action on set. A long sequence. Afterwards, he's sweating real bad, gets a gulp of water and overhears the producers talking about how he's getting old, and possibly letting him go.
When I was going to cast Johnny Cage, I honestly only had 1 guy in mind. I needed someone who is really young, and who can possibly look young despite being old. I needed someone who can act cocky but also know what he's doing. And I immediately thought of Ryan Reynolds – my best choice for the role.
We transition back to Bo Rai Cho and his students. Maybe a close up of Cage's sweat hitting the ground. After training, they mention the tournament once again, as Bo Rai Cho is going to compete in the next one. Finally, we'll have Bo Rai Cho say something wise, something like "life is too short to rush into battle. This world is full of evil, but we musn't go looking for it. We must enjoy every moment while it lasts." While Bo Rai Cho is making this inspirational speech, we go back to each of the sad scenes. We see Jax fitted with robotic arms, Kabal given a Mask, and Kano with his robotic eye. We see Cage getting fired and he takes it harshly. We see Hanzo screaming in grief before engulfing himself in flames, turning himself into Scorpion. And we also see 2 additional figures, Kitana and Mileena, vowing to fight for Mortal Kombat to Shang Tsung in front of their father, Shao Khan. Close up on a flag, or an emblem somewhere, with the black dragon motif. Then Title Card and opening credits.
Last Bit of Casting
Let's go through the last bunch of people I want to cast. First of all, Shang Tsung is Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. It's tradition. I feel like Tagawa is to Shang Tsung like Hugh Jackman is Wolverine or Ian McKellen is to Gandalf. I have identified Tagawa with the role. However, if there was anyone I had to choose other than Tagawa, someone younger to play such a role, I would choose Karl Yune. He can definitely play ruthless and the humanity can give more reason for people to love the character.
Next, let's take a look at the girls. Kitana and Mileena are twins, except Mileena has Shao Khan's blood. I had my eye on Zhang Ziyi and Jamie Chung for the girls. They are both good actresses, can look the part and act the part. One the one hand, you have a badass princess seeking greater good and on the other a deformed princess, a ruthless warrior, who is looking for approval from her father.
The other girl character of the movie is Sonya Blade, who will be introduced when we go back to the DCPD try for the Black Dragon gang again. Chris Ballard is now Kabal, leading the gang along side the now mechanized Kano. Sonya infiltrates their base with a cyborg Jax. Ronda Rousey was my first thought for Sonya, just because she's blonde, she knows how to fight, and she can act, even just a bit. However, Sonya is pretty petite and yet she's tough, which makes her dangerous. Then I thought of "Edge of Tomorrow" and how good Emily Blunt was and all the other movies she's done. That's the one I want for Sonya. Another person I though of was Jennifer Lawrence. They can both play the role, but I just think that Blunt is a better fit.
Next are the grown martial artists, starting with Kung Lao. I originally though of Jet Li, because he looked the role better, but I thought of his height compared to Aaron Yoo, and I thought of his experience in acting. So, I switched him with Sung Kang. I like this arrangement better. Kang can act as Kung Lao better, more reserved than the emotional Liu Kang. The only problem I have with this is that Kang and Yoo don't look so much alike, but I think the transition from happy youngster to serious monk would do good from Yoo to Kang.
And so, Jet Li will be the older Liu Kang. We have a star to highlight on marketing, someone who can actually do all the stunts.
For this movie, it would be nice to see an underling going back and forth between Shao Khan. Show that he looks like the big boss, but really, Shang Tsung is pulling all the strings. I want Reptile at that role and I don't want anyone other than Andy Serkis to play him. He is, without a doubt, the best motion capture actor in all of film. That is basically it, actually. He is the best at what he does, everybody respects him at it.
Next is the movie's main antagonist, Shao Khan, father to Mileena and overseer of the Mortal Kombat tournaments. When I think of that role, I think of Mickey Rourke, and how captivating he was as Hyperion in "Immortals." He was both glorious and menacing an that's what we're looking for in Shao Khan. Another person who could play the role is Dwayne Johnson.
Lastly, I want to cast Dave Bautista as the big bad, Goro. He has the build, the voice, and the attitude to pull it off. I couldn't think of another person who can pull it off better. Well, save Dwayne Johnson.
Epilogue
There are so many ideas I have for the story, but that was just the prologue. I might write about this again someday, if enough people ask for it, or if I'm in the mood. Until then, I encourage you to enjoy every aspects of film, no matter how boring you feel it is or how complicated you think it is. Watch more. Enjoy more.
