We’re here pumping out interviews and reviews this week for Mortal Kombat, we had our chat with Ludi Lin and Max Huang yesterday and today we’re talking with director Simon McQuoid. Based on the iconic video game series, this film serves as a reboot of the Mortal Kombat film series. If you’ve never dabbled with the Mortal Kombat games, the primary plot is that legendary and powerful warriors come together in an intergalactic tournament fighting typically for the survival of the world. Mortal Kombat is McQuoid’s first major project and it’s a doozy. An eager fandom, loads of nostalgia, coordinated fight scenes, and special effects, Mortal Kombat has it all.
In “Mortal Kombat,” MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage—or why Outworld’s Sorcerer Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt him 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 from 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?
After spending some time in pre-production development, Simon McQuoid was tapped as the director for Mortal Kombat and with that, he inherited the hopes and expectations of an eager fanbase. This being his first major film debut, we talked a bit with McQuoid about how he landed the job and also how he went about preparing himself for such a large fanbase.
Of course, a large part of the Mortal Kombat franchise involves the fights and most importantly, the fatalities, we talked with him about what it was like filming those major action scenes and how he went about directing them. Watch The Beat‘s exclusive chat with Simon McQuoid below!
Mortal Kombat is in theaters and streaming on HBO Max Friday, April 23, 2021.
