Confirmation that not one, but two Mortal Kombat movies are in production surprised fans this past week. That one of those movies would be a full-length anime film was all the more unexpected. Warner Bros. clearly sees a lot of potential in the Mortal Kombat franchise, if it's receiving similar treatment to a DC Comics series. As evidence that WB understands the nature of Mortal Kombat and what fans want from it, it's now confirmed that the Mortal Kombat animated film will be rated-R.

Mortal Kombat creator and creative director Ed Boon had the privilege of announcing Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge's R-rating. As ever, Boon took to Twitter to make the reveal. Perhaps he was just looking for an opportunity to compared Scorpion's Revenge to the Joker, but he listed The Joker, the Killing Joke animated film, and the Mortal Kombat animated film and asked fans what they all had in common. He then dropped an image of Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge's logo with a rated-R symbol edited in.

RELATED: Mortal Kombat 11 Adding DC Character Skins

While a Mortal Kombat animated film being rated-R may seem like an obvious choice for fans, there was good reason to worry. Trying to make Mortal Kombat accessible to younger fans is somewhat understandable. Plus, it's been attempted before. In 1996, then-Mortal Kombat-owner Midway Games created and released Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm. The cartoon show was a sequel to the popular live-action film, but was canceled after just one season. Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge could easily have been a similar effort.

Fans probably felt safe about the new anime Mortal Kombat film since it was announced, however. After all, part of the announcement confirmed that Ed Boon was involved with the project and it's hard to imagine Boon lending his support without the movie being true to the franchise's violent nature.

So far, all that's known about the in-production Mortal Kombat animated film is a large portion of its voice cast and the production talent behind it. Virtually nothing is known about the film's story, including whether or not it will tie into the upcoming Mortal Kombat live-action film. It's likely safe to say that there are going to be some very bloody fights throughout the movie, though. Going off of the title, it may be about Scorpion's past, which hasn't exactly been a peaceful affair going off of canon.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge releases in the first half of 2020.

MORE: Mortal Kombat 11: Every Joker Easter Egg in the Gameplay Trailer