Mortal Kombat: Legacy is an American web series adapted from the Mortal Kombat video game franchise. It debuted on Machinima.com's YouTube channel on April 11, 2011. The second season was released in its entirety on September 26, 2013.
The show's premise originated with director Kevin Tancharoen's short film, Mortal Kombat: Rebirth (2010), which portrayed the background to the original game's story, albeit in a more grounded fashion. Seeking the green-light from the studio for production on a re-imagined Mortal Kombat film, he submitted the concept to Warner Bros. Pictures after having presented it to both Midway Games (Warner purchased Mortal Kombat and other assets from the original owners of the property in 2009) and New Line Cinema (the original Mortal Kombat film rights holder became a division/label of the larger studio in 2008), which declined to back the film, despite the attention and positive fan reception. Instead Tancharoen got the go-ahead to shoot the web series.
Plot The first season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy is a prequel to the original game, explaining the background stories of several characters from the series and demonstrating their reasons for participating in the upcoming tenth Mortal Kombat tournament on which the first game was based. The episodes are nonlinear with minimal continuity and each devoted to the story of a specific character or characters. The second season covers the tournament itself.
Cast CharacterDescriptionSeason 1 actorSeason 2 actor|style="text-align:center;"|Baraka |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;" |General of Outworld's Tarkatan warriors, under Shao Kahn's rule. |style="text-align:center;"|Fraser Aitcheson |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|—|style="text-align:center;"|Cyrax |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;"|Loyal ninja assassin for the Lin Kuei who apprehensively undergoes automation into a cybernetic warrior. |style="text-align:center;"|Shane Warren Jones |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|—|style="text-align:center;"|Ermac |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;"|Fighter composed of the souls of multiple dead warriors; also possesses the power of psychokinesis. |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|— |style="text-align:center;"|Kim Do Nguyen|style="text-align:center;"|Jackson "Jax" Briggs |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;" | Captain of the Deacon City Police Department, and Sonya's longtime partner. |style="text-align:center;"|Michael Jai White |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|—|style="text-align:center;"|Johnny Cage |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;" |Famous actor struggling to maintain his fame after a string of controversies. Fights alongside Earth's defenders in Season 2. |style="text-align:center;"|Matt Mullins |style="text-align:center;"|Casper Van Dien|style="text-align:center;"|Kano |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;"|Notorious thug and head of the Black Dragon crime cartel. |style="text-align:center;"|Darren Shahlavi |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|—|style="text-align:center;"|Kenshi |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;"|Blind swordsman possessing the power of telekinesis. |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|— |style="text-align:center;"|Daniel Southworth|style="text-align:center;"|Kitana |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;" |Former princess of Edenia, daughter of King Jerrod and Queen Sindel; raised as an assassin by Emperor Shao Kahn. She entered the tournament alongside Shang Tsung's forces but later turned against them. |style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" |Samantha Jo|style="text-align:center;"|Kurtis Stryker |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;"|Lieutenant of the Deacon City Police Department alongside Jax and Sonya. Fights alongside Earth's defenders in Season 2. |style="text-align:center;"|Tahmoh Penikett |style="text-align:center;"|Eric Jacobus|style="text-align:center;"|Kung Lao |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;"|Friend of Liu Kang and fellow Shaolin monk. Fights alongside Earth's defenders in Season 2. |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|— Mark Dacascos|style="text-align:center;"|Liu Kang |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;"|A violent and sociopathic former Shaolin monk turned vigilante and former friend of Kung Lao. He joins the tournament fighting alongside Shang Tsung. |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|— |style="text-align:center;"|Brian Tee|style="text-align:center;"|Mileena |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;" |A half-Edenian, half-Tarkatan clone of Kitana, trained as Kahn's loyal assassin. |style="text-align:center;"|Jolene Tran |style="text-align:center;"|Michelle Lee|style="text-align:center;"|Quan Chi |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;"| A sorcerer allied to Shang Tsung on the side of the Netherrealm. |style="text-align:center;"|Michael Rogers |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|—|style="text-align:center;"|Queen Sindel |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;" |The former queen of Edenia; wife of King Jerrod and mother of Princess Kitana. |style="text-align:center;"|Beatrice Ilg |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|—|style="text-align:center;"|Raiden |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;" |God of Thunder and Protector of Earthrealm. Leads Earth's warriors in the defense against Shang Tsung's forces. |style="text-align:center;"|Ryan Robbins |style="text-align:center;"|David Lee McInnis|style="text-align:center;"|Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;" |General of the Japanese Shirai Ryu ninja clan, who are rivals of the Lin Kuei. Due to the fear of inheriting his father's unhealthy sense of hatred, he agreed to a truce to end the war started by Sub-Zero. He joined fighting alongside Shang Tsung. |style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" |Ian Anthony Dale|style="text-align:center;"|Sektor |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;"|Loyal ninja assassin for the Lin Kuei who willingly undergoes automation into a cybernetic warrior. |style="text-align:center;"|Peter Shinkoda |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|—|style="text-align:center;"|Shang Tsung |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;"|Nefarious sorcerer serving Shao Kahn. In season two, hosts the Mortal Kombat tournament, leading his warriors against those of Earthrealm. |style="text-align:center;"|Johnson Phan |style="text-align:center;"|Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa|style="text-align:center;"|Shao Kahn |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;" |Emperor of Outworld; adoptive father to Kitana and Mileena. |style="text-align:center;"|Aleks Paunovic |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|—|style="text-align:center;"|Sonya Blade |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;"|Lieutenant in the Deacon City police department and Jax's partner. |style="text-align:center;"|Jeri Ryan |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|—|style="text-align:center;"|Bi-Han / Sub-Zero |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;" |Assassin for the Lin Kuei clan, who are rivals of the Shirai Ryu. He tires of the war between the clans and therefore calls a truce. Fights alongside Earth's defenders in Season 2. |style="text-align:center;"|Kevan Ohtsji | style="text-align:center;" |Eric Steinberg|style="text-align:center;"|Kuai Liang / Sub-Zero |style= "text-align:left; background:#ffffff;" |Lin Kuei assassin and younger brother of the deceased Bi-Han. |style="background:#d3d3d3; text-align:center; color:#d3d3d3;"|— |style="text-align:center;"|Harry Shum Jr.
Episodes
Production
Conception On June 8, 2010, Mortal Kombat: Rebirth surfaced on YouTube amid confusion about its origins and intentions. Kevin Tancharoen said he'd been thinking about a Mortal Kombat reboot for some time, and when the technology became available to him, he felt the time was right to make a short film. Tancharoen wrote and directed the film over a weekend without any studio involvement. With help from friends and colleagues and a $7,500 budget, the film was completed in two months. Before submitting the film to Warner Bros., Tancharoen intended to privately upload the short to YouTube to gauge the response of a colleague. He accidentally made it available to the general public, who quickly voiced an overwhelmingly positive response.
Tancharoen noted the positive fan response and realized the advantage of social networking in helping small-time directors gain a following to take to film studio executives. He met with Warner Bros. executives, who stopped short of green-lighting a major motion picture, but agreed to fund a web series based on the Mortal Kombat franchise. The final step was convincing Ed Boon, co-creator of the franchise and executive producer at NetherRealm Studios, who had just produced the latest video game installment, to agree to the series. Boon was impressed with Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, but not entirely sold on Tancharoen's re-imagined vision. After he met with Tancharoen, Boon was surprised by his enthusiasm for the franchise and quickly offered his support.
Development
Season 1 development Mortal Kombat: Legacy is produced by Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Warner Premiere. Tancharoen, Lance Sloane and Tim Carter serve as producers. It consists of nine 8-12 minute episodes, each written by Tancharoen and Spartacus: Blood and Sand writers Todd Helbing and Aaron Helbing, with Tancharoen directing. Larnell Stovall, who worked with Tancharoen on Rebirth, is the stunt coordinator. The series was filmed in Vancouver in February and March, with Tancharoen tweeting daily updates of their progress. Post-production began in March and continued alongside release. Visual effects were handled by Goldtooth Creative Agency.
When Tancharoen made Mortal Kombat: Rebirth in 2010, he took the traditional Mortal Kombat story, which was for 20 years based in a supernatural world, and re-told it based on real-world scenarios. The characters and the basic plot of a tournament remained, but most mystical elements like alternate realms, sorcery, and the backstories of characters such as Baraka and Reptile were adjusted to fit the new realistic universe. This new take on the franchise is what prompted Ed Boon to remark that Rebirth "probably crosses the line" in terms of re-imagining. Warner Bros. was receptive to the new style. Despite the changes, Tancharoen promised fans the web series would be true to the franchise, including the mystical and supernatural elements famous to Mortal Kombat. The small budget forced some stories to be set in a realistic world to avoid the high costs of creating a fantasy world with visual effects. Of Boon's involvement, Tancharoen said he was instrumental in this show adhering to the canon of the series, but that he allowed Tancharoen to include his own ideas.