Movies
“Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2” Officially Announced For 2013!
A second season of the hit live-action web series “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” is currently in production in Los Angeles and will debut worldwide in Q2 2013 exclusively on Machinima, the number one entertainment network on YouTube. Based on the best-selling “Mortal Kombat” videogame franchise, Kevin Tancharoen returns to direct and co-write “Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2” alongside writers Josh Baizer and Marshall Johnson (“Dead Loss”).
“The first season of “Mortal Kombat: Legacy” was one of the most-viewed web series of 2011 with more than 60 million views to date on Machinima. In the second season the saga continues as Liu Kang and Ermac join the ranks of fighters introduced in the first season of the web series including Kenshi, Kung Lao, Kuai Lang, Stryker, Kitana, Mileena, Johnny Cage, Scorpion and Sub Zero. This new season will uncover the rivalries and histories of these fierce warriors as Raiden and his recruits clash against the dark forces of Outworld. The epic battle for Earthrealm has finally begun!”
“Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2” features stars from television and film – many of whom have real-world martial arts experience. The cast includes Harry Shum, Jr. (“Glee”) as the warlord adviser “Kuai Liang,” Casper Van Dien (“Starship Troopers”) as martial arts film actor “Johnny Cage,” Brian Tee (“The Wolverine”) as Shaolin Monk “Liu Kang,” Mark Dacascos (“Cradle 2 the Grave “) as “Kung Lao” – a close friend of “Liu Kang,” Ian Anthony Dale (“Hawaii Five-O”) returns as the resurrected ninja “Scorpion,” and reprising his role he made famous in the “Mortal Kombat” theatrical release – Cary Tagawa as the powerful, arrogant sorcerer “Shang Tsung.”
“Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2″ comes from producer Lance Sloane (“H+: The Digital Series” / “Act of Valor”) and Kevin Tancharoen (“Mortal Kombat: Legacy”) who also serves as the series’ director. Production services are provided by Bandito Brothers, and Hayden Roush and Marina Stabile serve as Line Producers. The series is written by Josh Baizer, Marshall Johnson and Kevin Tancharoen. “Mortal Kombat: Legacy 2″ is produced by Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and distributed by Machinima, Inc.
Mortal Kombat was first released on October 8, 1992. Since then it has become known as one of the darkest fighting games on the market. Famed for its mortal competition, fatalities and dark sense of humor, the game has been released on all major consoles, as well as arcade machines. The original development team, now known as NetherRealm Studios, led by creative director Ed Boon, continues to develop the game and build upon the existing success and rich story it has created to date.
The latest chapter of “Mortal Kombat” was released in 2011 by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, marking a triumphant return to the series’ roots in the fastest and most brutal installment to date. The game returned to a mature presentation and reinvented its classic 2D fighting mechanic in addition to adding new gameplay features including tag team, a deeper story mode, and nostalgic arcade battle online and offline. Selling more than three million units worldwide, the reinvention of the franchise became the highest-selling fighting game of the year and won numerous “Best Fighting Game” awards, including Spike TV’s 2011 Video Game Awards, 2012 Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Interactive Achievement Awards, and recognition from Game Informer, Official Xbox Magazine and GameTrailers.com.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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