Han and Sanada are Mortal Kombat’s Shang Tsung and Scorpion

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Casting news for the MORTAL KOMBAT reboot being produced by James Wan has been flying at us fast and furious over the last couple weeks, as filming is set to begin on September 16th. Up to this point we have learned that Ludi Lin will be playing Liu Kang, with Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Sisi Stringer as Mileena, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, and Lewis Tan in an unspecified role.

Now two more very important roles have been filled, with Chin Han taking on the role of Shang Tsung and Hiroyuki Sanada signing on to play Scorpion.

In the MORTAL KOMBAT video game, Shang Tsung was "a powerful evil warlock and shapeshifter who absorbs the souls of those he defeats in order to maintain his youth and power. As the great sorcerer of the Outworld, Shang Tsung wants Earth defeated so he can build an empire." Scorpion was "an undead ninja warrior seeking revenge for the person who killed him."

This casting does sort of seem backwards, I would have expected Sanada to be playing Shang Tsung instead of Scorpion, but both of these actors are strong additions to the film.

Simon McQuoid will be making his feature directorial debut with MORTAL KOMBAT, working from a screenplay by Greg Russo. The story centers on

a male protagonist who becomes drawn into the interdimensional tournament, and begins to realize his true potential as a result.

Wan is producing the film with Todd Garner. Larry Kasanoff, E. Bennett Walsh, Michael Clear, and Sean Robins serve as executive producers.

The MORTAL KOMBAT reboot is set to reach theatres on March 5, 2021.