Movies
Warner Bros. Reportedly Looking to Build Out the ‘Mortal Kombat’ Cinematic Universe
Released in theaters and on HBO Max back in April, the James Wan-produced Mortal Kombat battled its way to $83 million at the worldwide box office, with the film also proving to be a hit on the HBO Max streaming service. You may be thinking that Warner Bros. is likely looking to build out the universe with follow-up movies, and indeed that seems to be the case.
Variety notes this week in a much larger piece about Dune and its simultaneous release on HBO Max and in theaters, “Other films that had a hybrid release still have talks of sequels, with Warner Bros. looking to develop other installments in its Mortal Kombat universe.”
There’s not much to go on here at this time, but it would seem that Warner Bros. is at the very least interested in more live-action Mortal Kombat projects. This year’s movie had a post-credits tease of Johnny Cage making an appearance in a future sequel, and star Joe Taslim had recently revealed that he’s already signed on for a handful of sequels should the Warner Bros. movie prove successful enough to warrant them actually being made. As for what Taslim himself wants next, he proposes a prequel movie centered on his character Bi-Han/Sub-Zero.
Mind you, nothing is confirmed or set in stone at this time, but it’s likely that the strong HBO Max numbers are leading Warner Bros. to consider what could come next from the franchise. After all, keep in mind that we haven’t even seen a proper tournament yet…
Stay tuned for more as we learn it.
Movies
‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Adds “Chucky” Actor Teo Briones and More to Lead Cast
The Final Destination franchise is returning to life with Final Destination: Bloodlines. With filming now underway, THR reports that three actors have joined the lead cast, including “Chucky” actor Teo Briones.
Brec Bassinger (“Stargirl”) and Kaitlyn Santa Juana (The Friendship Game) join Teo Briones, who played Junior Wheeler in season two of “Chucky,” as the leads in the sixth installment of the horror franchise.
Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein (Freaks) are directing the fresh installment that also includes Richard Harmon (“The 100”, Grave Encounters 2), Anna Lore, Owen Patrick Joyner, Max Lloyd-Jones (The Book Of Boba Fett), Rya Kihlstedt (Obi Wan Kenobi), and Tinpo Lee (The Manor) among the cast.
Production is now underway in Vancouver.
What can we expect from the upcoming Final Destination 6? Speaking with Collider, franchise creator Jeffrey Reddick offered up an intriguing (and mysterious) tease last year.
“This film dives into the film in such a unique way that it attacks it from a different angle so you don’t feel like, ‘Oh, there’s an amazing setup and then there’s gonna be one wrinkle that can potentially save you all that you have to kind of make a moral choice about or do to solve it.’ There’s an expansion of the universe that – I’m being so careful,” Reddick teased.
Reddick continued, “It kind of unearths a whole deep layer to the story that kind of, yes, makes it really, really interesting.”
Final Destination: Bloodlines is written by Lori Evans Taylor (“Wicked Wicked Games”) and Guy Busick (Scream), with Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) producing.
Producers on the new movie for New Line Cinema also include Dianne McGunigle (Cop Car) as well as Final Destination producers Craig Perry and Sheila Hanahan Taylor.
This will be the sixth installment in the hit franchise, and the first in over ten years. Each film centers on “Death” hunting down young friends who survive a mass casualty event.
The latest entry is expected in 2025, coinciding with the original film’s 25th anniversary.
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