The trailer for the new Mortal Kombat movie is officially out, and it certainly doesn't let fans down on the blood and guts the franchise has come to be associated with. From Jax Briggs' opening scene to the quick-cut fatalities shown at the end, the Mortal Kombat R-rated trailer doesn't hold back punches.
Fans new and old will appreciate the care that went into restarting a film franchise based on nearly 30 years of Mortal Kombat. While the '90s movies have become cult classics for their over-the-top one-liners and relatively light violence, this trailer shows that nothing is being held back for the reboot – except for a few iconic fatalities fans hope to see in the full film.
10 In Trailer: Arm Rip – Jax Briggs
While Jax Briggs is usually known for doing the arm-ripping, in the Mortal Kombat trailer it is Jax whose arms are shown being ripped off by Subzero. This is an integral part of the character's origin story and the reason he was given bionic arms as a replacement, as seen later in the trailer.
This is another retelling of how Jax lost his arms. Throughout the Mortal Kombat series, he is shown having lost his arms to Baraka, Ermac, and even his own experimentation.
9 In Trailer: Kunai In The Face – Scorpion
Hanzo Hasashi, better known as the undead ninja specter Scorpion, is shown for part of the trailer in his human, untouched-by-the-Netherrealm form. The movie will likely go into Subzero and Scorpion's rivalry from opposing clans, but even before death, Hanzo had some killer moves.
In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, one of Scorpion's fatalities is to lash his kunai at his enemy and pull their head off in one clean move. It's the only Scorpion fatality represented in the trailer, but certainly not the only one that will be in the full movie.
8 Not In Trailer: Acid Fatality - Reptile
Reptile is shown for a brief moment towards the end of the trailer in combat (ahem, Kombat) with Kano during a quick-cut segment of the brutality fans can expect from the film. While Reptile appears to suffer a fatality inflicted by Kano, the character has more than enough iconic fatalities that fans hope will appear in the reboot.
One of these is Reptile's acid spit fatality, which involves Reptile vomiting acid onto his opponent until their skin rots off – brutal!
7 In Trailer: Heart Rip – Kano
Kano is a character who is associated with particularly...savage...tactics in battle. He always has a trick up his sleeve to get out of a tough situation, whether that be a hidden dagger or a beam fired from his "eye." One brutal way he ends his enemies' lives is by ripping out their hearts, a bit like the cultists in Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom.
In the trailer, Kano is shown ripping out the heart of (spoiler alert) Reptile, whose brief appearance ends abruptly.
6 In Trailer: Dragon Animality – Liu Kang
Liu Kang is perhaps the most iconic human character in the Mortal Kombat franchise – Subzero and Scorpion are in fact undead. This is thanks in part to his bicycle kick move in the games and the Bruce Lee-like fighting style he represents.
While not all Mortal Kombat games feature the animality option, where characters turn into beasts as a fatality move, Liu Kang's Dragon is perhaps the most recognizable. In fact, Liu Kang's dragon is often said to be the original symbol for the Mortal Kombat series, a dragon inlaid within a flaming circle.
5 Not In Trailer: Flaming Skull – Scorpion
Scorpion has made an appearance in just about every Mortal Kombat game, almost always with his fatality from the first game in the series. Under the name Scorpion, Hanzo Hasashi is no longer human – he is a resurrected ninja warrior from the Netherrealm who seeks revenge.
When Scorpion takes off his mask and hood, then, it isn't a human face hidden underneath but a skull on fire. In the games, Scorpion breathes fire onto his enemies as a fatality, and hopefully, this iconic move is represented in the film.
4 In Trailer: Lazer Fatality – Kano
Kano lost his eye in the series canon because Jax ripped it out in an unseen encounter before the first game. It is later revealed that he upgraded it from a simple implant to a bionic enhancement after sustaining damage from Subzero. In truth, though, it was just a way for the developers to reference The Terminator series in their game.
However, Kano would not be the recognizable Australian madman he is without his iconic eye beam. This is shown for a few seconds in the trailer, with Kano maniacally laughing as he blasts someone just off-screen.
3 In Trailer: Blood Dagger – Subzero
While Subzero has plenty of iconic moves and fatalities throughout the Mortal Kombat series, a new one appears in the trailer. Subzero appears to slice Scorpion open, freeze his blood in mid-air, then marvel at his new dagger before plunging it back into the Netherrealm ninja. It's on par with recent entries in the series' level of brutality.
Fans have started calling this the Blood Transplant, or the Blood Dagger, as it doesn't appear in any game and shows what fans can expect from the reboot.
2 Not In Trailer: Spinal Column Rip – Subzero
Subzero has perhaps one of the most iconic – and controversial – fatalities in all of Mortal Kombat. When the game was first released, the spinal rip fatality was cited by politicians and gaming-demonizing parents across the country as an example of how Mortal Kombat teaches kids how to be violent.
While Subzero's spinal rip now seems tame compared to fatalities from more recent games, it is nonetheless an iconic symbol of the series' brutality and ought to make an appearance somewhere in the movie.
1 In Trailer: Midsection Blast – Sonya Blade
Blink and you'll miss this fatality from the quick-cut section of brutality at the end of the trailer. Sonya Blade is not particularly known for her affinity for gore and is more of a tactical ask-questions shoot-later kind of soldier.
That's not to say she doesn't get hot-headed, though. Sonya's fatalities often consist of using elaborate traps to kill her opponents, and in the trailer, she is shown blasting Mileena away with a well-placed shot to the abdomen. Purple blood gushes out from the blood-crazed demon, but it's unclear if this is actually the end of Mileena.