Here’s one thing that few fans know about the Mortal Kombat video game franchise – it’s not popular in Japan due to the excessive violence, as authorities insist on censorship to tone down the violence, which the developers aren’t keen on. So while the game isn’t banned, it’s not widely available.
Which makes for an interesting case for noted Japanese actor/director Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer, Shogun), who reprises his role as God of Thunder, Lord Raiden, in Mortal Kombat II (MKII). There’s no basis for his approach to the character, as he never had intimate exposure to the 34-year-old video game franchise growing up. And by intentionally staying away from all the other portrayals of Raiden across the franchise’s animated shows and live-action films, he developed his own original take on the fan-favourite character.
“I stayed away from all the other portrayals of Raiden. Also in Japan, there’s no Mortal Kombat games because it’s prohibited so I try my best to bring the original,” he explains during an exclusive interview with Geek Culture during the Mortal Kombat II Global Tour in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Meanwhile, former Indonesian national judo champion-turned-actor Joe Taslim (The Raid, The Night Comes for Us) returns in the rebooted film series as Bi-Han/Sub-Zero, but this time resurrected as franchise vet Noob Saibot. Even then, he looked forward to reuniting with his castmates from the first film, and welcomed the new characters in the sequel, including Karl Urban (Star Trek, Dredd) as Johnny Cage and Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Riverdale) as Kitana.
“Halfway (through the first movie), we already became one family. So for the second one, I think there’s nothing to adjust, no awkwardness,” recalls the 44-year-old. “So the only thing that we thought, because there are new actors coming, hopefully they are open to collaborate, and then everybody was just super fun.”
“It took us probably only two days. And then everything just gelled. It was a very smooth process to build chemistry.”
The movie also marked a reunion of sorts with Urban, whom he co-starred with in 2016’s Star Trek Beyond. Sadly, both actors didn’t interact much then, and for this film, the two of them (spoiler alert) only share one scene. Even then, the parallels between Cage, a former martial arts champion turned actor in the franchise, and Taslim, aren’t lost.
“I have only one scene with Karl, before the fight with Scorpion,” he explains. Still, he’s eager to share his set of real skills if the opportunity arises, as another sequel is already in development.
“I know how to throw people, choke people, break people down. If he wants to learn, maybe Johnny Cage can upgrade his style in the next one.”
And when it comes to delivering fatalities, Taslim doesn’t hold back on providing his rendition of one of Mortal Kombat’s signature finishing moves – “I like to break people,” he says with a grin.
In fact, he pitches a gruesome idea for Sub-Zero – freezing an opponent after shattering every bone, then leaving them to die slowly.
Amused at his co-star’s openness, Asano-san then brings up his character’s own lightning powers to take on Bi-Han’s bone-crunching violence but the ever-humble Taslim defers to his distinguished co-star, saying that Lord Raiden will actually emerge victorious in the real world.
“You can turn off the electricity. (With) no Wi-Fi, everybody dies,” he says with a chuckle.
Beyond the Mortal Kombat universe, Taslim, who shot to international fame in 2011’s action thriller, The Raid, notes that there’s a change in the way Hollywood is embracing cinematic violence in its current crop of films, as global audiences are open to it. Taslim notes that the long-held belief that Hollywood’s reliance on PG-13 ratings to draw in a bigger audience, which has limited the bone-crunching intensity of big-budget action, is slowly eroding.
“Now it’s slowly shifting,” he says, pointing to the success of the John Wick franchise as proof that audiences are open to embracing violence, especially when paired with strong storytelling.
“It’s all about creative ideas about storytelling. It’s about characterisation… it depends on your script. The world is open right now.”
Mortal Kombat II opens in cinemas on 7 May 2026.
Yonk is a geek who is fortunate enough to have an equally geeky Star Wars fan for a wife, who owns a LEGO Millennium Falcon encased in a glass coffee table as their home’s centre-piece.
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