The Mortal Kombat video game franchise began with digital capture, of digitalising the fighting movements of actors and transplanting them into game characters filled with bone-crunching and violent action. It also established the foundations of the live-action films that subsequently followed, which astutely taps on the skills of real fighters, to bring the iconic game characters to life.
The latest sequel of the 2021 reboot film, Mortal Kombat II (MKII) continues in the proud tradition, with Ludi Lin (Power Rangers, Aquaman), who has trained from young in Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu, as Liu Kang, and Max Huang (Time Raiders, Hidden Strike), a former stuntman with the famed Jackie Chan Stunt Team in Hong Kong and has trained in Wing Chun and wushu from young, as Kung Lao. While both reprise their roles in the sequel, their returning status didn’t accord them any luxury to take a step back against an incoming group of new actors, including Karl Urban (Star Trek, Dredd) as Johnny Cage and Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Riverdale) as Kitana.
In fact, the duo, who have developed a fast friendship since the first film, took additional steps to train hard for their big fight in the sequel, ensuring that the two fighters were able to elevate. And as Lin indicated in an earlier interview with Geek Culture, this included spur of the moment calls to Huang, including late at night, to train together.
When reminded of this at the Mortal Kombat II Global Tour in Jakarta, Indonesia, Huang laughs at the reminder, while also acknowledging the dedication of his co-star.
“Honestly, it’s been a blast working with this guy. He put in all the work,” says Huang of Lin.
“You can see, he put on 60 pounds of muscle. And it’s great to have a fight partner like him, because it’s the opponent that decides whether or not this fight is going to be outstanding. You need a strong opponent, and Ludi has been that guy.”
To which Lin replies, “Thanks for always picking up.”
That intensity sometimes blurs the line between choreography and reality as well, including trading real blows.
“Yeah, we clipped each other a couple of times,” Lin says. “We try to make that happen as little as possible, but this guy surprises me every single day. He does those twists without any wire, and even the stunt people are surprised.”
It’s the kind of raw, practical stunt work that keeps audiences hooked in an era dominated by digital effects, and at a time when artificial intelligence (AI) starts to creep into filmmaking, nothing is sacred, including the art of action cinema. In the last few months, social media has been filled with AI-made clips to actors fighting each other in simple clips, including bouts between Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Bruce Lee, and even Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
But to Huang and Lin, it’s not a matter of how impressive these artificially created clips are, but if audiences will embrace them wholeheartedly.
“It’s the same with acting. Can we replace acting? It’s the spirit of a human being. AI can’t capture that,” notes Huang, even as he concedes that technology may get better along the way.
“I’m a big believer that we should always do it ourselves.”
Lin takes things a little further though, asking, “What’s the point? Are we doing this for us, or to amuse machines? The journey is the destination. AI mines data and combines it into an acceptable median of performance. People push the envelope into something new.”
“I’ve seen a couple of AI fights, like the Brad Pitt versus Tom Cruise right? I mean, let’s see,” says Huang. “You know, maybe in five years, it catches up and we can’t tell anymore what’s real or what’s not. But I’m a big believer that we should always do it ourselves.”
And despite his extensive experience working with action superstarJackie Chan as part of his stunt team, Huang says he continues to learn from the best, and even credits the Mortal Kombat II stunt crew for elevating his game.
“Hats off to the stunt team. I learn as I go, and with a franchise like this, it’s the place to learn. I feel I grew so much working on this movie.”
He acknowledges Jackie Chan’s influence as more than just technical skills. “He’s a mentor, a sifu, almost like a father figure, and a good friend, and I’m very grateful.”
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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