For all of the abject failures and box office calamities, Hollywood’s quest to produce the first great video game adaptation continues unabated, what with big-name projects like Monster Hunter and Detective Pikachu simmering in various stages of development.
Meanwhile, the long-rumored Mortal Kombat movie (not the cult favorite of ’95, but a new version entirely) is a little further down the pipeline. But an adaptation is coming, and it may well be produced by James Wan, director of Saw, Insidious and the upcoming Aquaman.
Exciting though that may be, don’t get your hopes up just yet: Wan recently told Heroic Hollywood that Mortal Kombat is “a tricky one,” and may languish in development limbo for another few years to come.
That has been such a tricky one just trying to get the script to a point. People don’t know this, fans don’t understand this, but there’s just so much on the business side of things… to try and get the right budget for it, and we want to make sure we have enough resources and the budget to do the film right. If I can’t get the right resources and find the right filmmaker for it, I don’t want to do it. I’m so busy already. I don’t need to clutter my plate with more stuff if I don’t believe it can be done right.
To his credit, James Wan has made it his mission to locate the correct filmmaker for a live-action Mortal Kombat movie, and won’t be pressured into fast-tracking a project that’s yet to coalesce. Whether he’s able to find time on his busy schedule is another question entirely – hell, Warner Bros. is already plotting a second Aquaman film, so that’ll likely take precedence for the director if he decides to remain behind the wheel.
And for Mortal Kombat? It’s not exactly a fatal blow to the project’s chances; rather, James Wan is biding his time before spearheading what would be the second live-action rendition of Ed Boon’s brutal brawler.