It’s hard to believe that it has been just over three decades since the first Mortal Kombat movie graced the big screen in 1995. The franchise remains as popular as ever, with new installments of the video game series still getting released, as well as a new live-action movie franchise, whose sequel was released this year. There are also some stellar animated movies for fans to see the bloody violence that made the franchise so iconic in the first place – but for many longtime fans, the original 1995 film is still their favorite. They love that it’s cheesy, has special effects that haven’t aged well, and has a booming soundtrack. While all of those things are well-known, the process of making 1995’s Mortal Kombat even happen featured a lot of ups and downs that people still don’t know. In fact, making Mortal Kombat is almost as fun to learn about as watching the movie itself.
Before Mortal Kombat became a film filled with fun fights, the studio dealt with some pushback from outside sources, had some issues with casting choices, and more. There were also big names involved, an expensive puppet, and one actor who went above and beyond on set.
Mortal Kombat is one of the most violent video games ever made; adapting it into a film called for an R rating from the MPAA, yet the studio was insistent on keeping it PG-13. They believed that teens were playing the violent game earlier than they probably should have, so they’d flock to theaters to see it on the big screen. PG-13 always opens up tickets to wider audiences than an R rating, so that was an important aspect to consider as well.
The filmmakers worked closely with the MPAA to figure out how often they could curse and how violent they could get under PG-13 rules. That meant getting creative and doing things like having Sub-Zero get impaled by an icicle and turning to ice, a tame fatality compared to the games. They weren’t allowed to murder humans on screen either, meaning only a non-human character like Goro could be shown getting killed.
Originally, the people behind the Mortal Kombat movie wanted Sean Connery to play Lord Raiden. He was past doing overly physical roles at that time, though, so they pivoted to his Highlander co-star, Christopher Lambert. Interestingly, Danny Glover was also on their list for the role. One of the most consistent stories to come out of the film’s production was how Lambert went above and beyond in the role and for both his co-stars and the crew.
Lambert was one of the actors who ad-libbed a lot of his lines, giving personality and even some comedic elements to the character. He was rather expensive, so the team planned to film him in Los Angeles while everyone else was filming in Thailand. However, Lambert opted to travel to Thailand on his own dime because he felt the movie would be better if he was on location. Lambert then also picked up the tab for the wrap party for the entire cast and crew.
One of the most memorable and timeless elements of Mortal Kombat is the soundtrack. “Techno Syndrome (Mortal Kombat)” by The Immortals is a staple of pop culture, and is what most people hear in their heads whenever they hear the name Mortal Kombat. That said, the song and its surrounding soundtrack were something that record companies were very opposed to during production. Soundtracks were a huge deal in the ’90s; the idea that the soundtrack for Mortal Kombat would be all electronic dance music wasn’t popular.
Multiple record companies kicked the producers out of their offices when they pitched it. They had a deal with Sony, who wanted Buckethead behind the soundtrack, and also backed out. Meanwhile, Virgin Records wanted them to use Janet Jackson. The studio backed the producers, though, and allowed them to work with a smaller record company that nobody really knew. The result was the first platinum EDM record in history, so it worked out.
In 2021’s Mortal Kombat, it’s clear that Goro was made through CGI. Back in 1995, CGI wasn’t exactly a cost-effective route, so they opted to go with a puppet for the four-armed monstrous fighter. According to reports, the film spent around $1 million to create the puppet, and it took more than a dozen puppeteers to consistently work it. Different puppeteers handled everything from the arms to the eyebrows. Unfortunately, Goro kept malfunctioning, which would cause lengthy stalls in production.
On top of that, because the Goro puppet was so expensive, the filmmakers worked hard to make sure it didn’t get damaged. At one point, there was meant to be a scene with gardens on stage, koi ponds, and reflection pools, but they opted to do away with it all, out of fear that Goro would fall into it and short-circuit. There’s no doubt that this Goro looked better than a CGI version would have, but it was more troublesome.
While it’s interesting that the studio considered Connery and Glover for Raiden, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras wasn’t the first choice for Sonya Blade. They actually had someone else cast in the role, and Cameron Diaz actually signed on to portray the character. The actress was coming off her scene-stealing feature-film debut in 1994’s The Mask, so this would’ve been another big movie for her.
Though she was an unknown when they first looked at her, the breakout from The Mask made this a great find. The producers got her into training, since she hadn’t done martial arts work before, and that was the end of it because Diaz broke her wrist right before shooting. In fact, that was one of many injuries on set, with Wilson-Sampras dislocating a shoulder and others suffering bruised or fractured ribs. Diaz wouldn’t be healed in time for shooting, which led to them bringing in Wilson-Sampras.
Mortal Kombat movies can be streamed on HBO Max.
