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Jeri Ryan, Michael Jai White reprise 'Rebirth' roles in Mortal Kombat live-action series
Warner Bros. today confirmed the initial casting for the Mortal Kombat live-action digital series, which began shooting in Vancouver this month. Both Jeri Ryan (who spilled the beans last week on Twitter) and Michael Jai White will reprise their roles as Sonya Blade and Jax, respectively, from last year's "unofficial fan short" Mortal Kombat: Rebirth -- which was actually a totally professional pitch for a reimagined MK film, made by director Kevin Tancharoen. (While he didn't land the movie deal, Tancharoen did secure a gig directing, producing and co-writing the upcoming digital shorts.) Joining the duo of do-gooders will be Kano, played by Darren Shahlavi, who voiced one of the Tier 1 Operators in Medal of Honor and was an uncredited "Persian" in 300 -- so, obviously, dude knows how to fight. Surely, punches will be thrown and blood will be spilled as Tancharoen and cast resolve this storied love triangle in a hurry. The Mortal Kombat digital series is expected to span nine short episodes and will also feature Scorpion, Sub-Zero and additional characters from the game's universe. The shorts will be "available online" this spring, in conjunction with the April 19 release of the new Mortal Kombat game. "BTW, just finished reading the whole script for Mortal Kombat," Ryan recently tweeted. "Holy crap... I think u might just love it." [Pictured: Ryan (right) and Jai White in Mortal Kombat: Rebirth test footage]
Warner confirms live-action Mortal Kombat digital series by 'Rebirth' director, coming this spring
Last summer's "unofficial" Mortal Kombat: Rebirth test footage has landed its director, Kevin Tancharoen, a job with Warner Bros. While Rebirth won't become a full-length feature film (you can't kill off Johnny Cage like that!), Warner apparently saw something in the imaginative re-imagination of its new aging fighting game franchise. As reported earlier this month, Tancharoen will helm a series of live-action Mortal Kombat digital shorts, which will be released in conjunction with the new game (launching April 19) "this spring through online digital retailers." Does that mean we have to pay for them? Warner teased that the digital series, to commence (crunch time) filming in Vancouver early next month, will provide "never-before-revealed insights" into the characters from the new game and its "universe," including Liu Kang and, of course, the beloved Johnny Cage (you see, Tancharoen?). The company will reveal further details shortly, including casting (and, hopefully, the fact that these webisodes will be totally, 100 percent free -- right Warner?). It's been reported that Michael Jai White will reprise his Rebirth role as Jax. [Pictured: Scorpion from MK: Rebirth test footage; full video after the break]
