Mortal Kombat rating officially an R for strong bloody violence and more

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

We've been hearing all along that the new Mortal Kombat movie, which is coming to theatres and the HBO Max streaming service on April 16th, would be rated R. Now, it's official. The ratings board has given Mortal Kombat an R for "strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references". I could take or leave the language and crude references, but strong bloody violence is definitely what I'm wanting to see from this movie.

Directed by Simon McQuoid from a screenplay by Dave Callaham and Greg Russo (who also receives story credit with Oren Uziel), this Mortal Kombat has the following synopsis: 

In “Mortal Kombat,” MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage — or why Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family’s safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao and rogue mercenary Kano, as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana — the immense power from within his soul — in time to save not only his family, but to stop Outworld once and for all?

Lewis Tan stars as Cole Young and is joined in the cast by Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Max Huang as Kung Lao, Sisi Stringer as Mileena, Josh Lawson as Kano, Elissa Cadwell as Nitara, and Daniel Nelson as Kabal.

This Mortal Kombat was produced by horror regular James Wan, with Todd Garner. Larry Kasanoff, E. Bennett Walsh, Michael Clear, and Sean Robins serve as executive producers.