‘Mortal Kombat: Annihilation’ 20th Anniversary: Latest News On Reboot Movie

“Mortal Kombat: Annihilation,” the sequel film to 1995’s “Mortal Kombat,” came out on this day 20 years ago.

The movie, which was based on the popular fighting video game, was released on Nov. 21, 1997. Despite currently having a three percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film opened in theaters to $16 million, making it No. 1 at the box office that weekend. It ended up taking in a little over $50 million worldwide.

Despite not having the best reception at the box office, for years there were plans to make a third film in the franchise. Those plans, unfortunately, kept going back and forth, with problems arising at every turn.

Now, 20 years after the release of the last “Mortal Kombat” film, it seems Warner Bros. is really starting to make strides towards making a third film, thought it’s not set to be a sequel in the franchise, but a reboot instead.

James Wan, who produced many of the “Saw” films and currently executive produces the “MacGyver” series, is signed on to produce the new “Mortal Kombat” film, while Simon McQuoid signed on to direct in 2016.

Though fans have been waiting years for a new full-length film adaptation of the video game series (there was a short film in 2010 and a prequel web series from 2011 to 2013) for a very long time, Wan told IGN that he doesn’t want to rush the new project.

“The key here is to try and do it right,” he said to IGN in 2016. “I don’t want to rush into it. So right now, we’re just trying to take our time to make sure it’s heading in the right direction. I think that’s more important than trying to rush through it and pump up something that no one likes.”

It makes sense that Wan wants to get it right after 20 years without a “Mortal Kombat” film, but after years without one, fans are ready for it. Especially after everything the franchise has been through since the sequel came out, it’s time.

What exactly has it been through in the last 20 years to get it to this point? Let’s take a look.

Its production company, Threshold Entertainment, put the third film on hold for a while after the sequel was released to put it through multiple script rewrites and changes before eventually legal issues found “Mortal Kombat,” as an asset, being bought by Warner Bros. in 2009.

It’s been a long road for the franchise, for fans, the cast and all studios and companies involved.

Linden Ashby, who played Johnny Cage in the first film and whose character died early in the sequel, talked with SoapNet in 2003 about reprising his role in the third film, despite his character dying in the second.

He said that he’d read some scripts, but that things were still being worked on. That was way before more problems arose and the franchise ended up being sold to Warner Bros.

In the eight years since the sale, there has continued to be rumor after rumor of a third film, with many different entries being added to IMDb and then being taken off, always teasing fans. Producers, writers, directors and scripts have come and gone, which is why the fact that there are currently behind-the-scenes people attached to the new film exciting, but also not completely comforting.

Until there’s something more concrete going on with the “Mortal Kombat” reboot, fans are likely to still be skeptical and reserved, as that’s what 20 years without a new film will do. Still, some hope is better than none. Here’s hoping it’s not another 20 years until this new “Mortal Kombat” film is made.

In the meantime, continue to enjoy the first two on repeat.