The forthcoming Mortal Kombat movie has been given an R-rating, making it the first non-PG film in the franchise's history.
The martial arts fantasy action flick is based on the game series of the same name, with the screenplay written by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham.
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According to Exhibitor Relations Company, the movie is R-rated due to its 'strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references'.
Its grisly nature is hardly a surprise, given both the nature of the original game franchise and what Russo has previously said about the project - having made his intentions for the film pretty clear in a 2019 interview with ComicBook.com, where he promised the movie would 'earn its R rating'.
He said at the time: "In terms of the content, yeah. I mean we're... I think there's always a thin line, you know, you don't want to be over the top, right?
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"With your violence and I don't know that that's really going to... that may put people off. I'm not sure that's even necessary.
"So you want to be truthful, but you also you don't want to be so ridiculous and gratuitous that you may turn people off in the wrong way. So I would just say that it's going to be faithful to the games, but yeah. And it's going to earn its R rating, I guess I'll say that."
Actor Chin Han, who plays powerful evil warlock Shang Tsung also recently revealed more about what we can expect from the movie, and how the action mirrors that of the game series.
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Speaking to GamesRadar+, he said: "This is nothing like I've done before because the moves are really so iconic. You have to incorporate the iconic moves into actual fighting styles. That's where it's interesting. All the various forms of fighting merge in this film."
The Mortal Kombat film is due to be released on HBO Max and in theatres in the US on 16 April, with its UK release following later in 2021.
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros
Topics: GAMING, Entertainment, TV and Film
