HBO Max releases first 7 minutes of Mortal Kombat movie – and they're bloody brutal

By Stephanie Williams
published

This sneak peek at the Mortal Kombat movie are brutal – physically and emotionally

Ahead of the simultaneous debut in theaters and HBO Max, the streaming platform shared the first seven minutes of the Mortal Kombat movie on its Twitter account – and it's a brutal watch in the best way. 

The scene sets to tone for what fans can expect for the rebooted adaptation of the violent but popular videogame series. It starts with an idyllic family day out and quickly devolves into a nightmare when Joe Taslim's Sub Zero appears looking for Hiroyuki Sanada's Scorpion. You can watch the scene in full below. 

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Fans of the Mortal Kombat franchise may feel a bit of deja-vu as the movie's opening feels like a well-done live-action version of the animated film Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge from 2020. 

The direct-to-video adult animated martial arts movie centers around the titular character seeking revenge on those who murdered his family and clan after being resurrected by Quan Chi. At the same time, Johnny Cage – who is not in the Mortal Kombat reboot – Liu Kang and Sonya Blade are chosen to participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament for the fate of Earthrealm. It was the first animated project for the franchise since the 1996 animated series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm. 

There are just a few more days until the Mortal Kombat movie debuts, and after the release of the seven minutes, the hype has probably increased ten-fold. Here you can find all the ways to watch Mortal Kombat online if you don't see it in theaters on April 23. 

Stephanie Williams

Stephanie is a comic book historian and pop culture critic for publications including SYFYFANGRRLS, Marvel, The A.V. Club, Nerdist, Den of Geek, and Rotten Tomatoes. Stephanie is also a comic creator with three ongoing webcomics, Parenthood Activate!, But What If Though?, and Living Heroes. She made her Marvel debut with a short story featuring Monica Rambeau in Marvel’s Voices: Legacy. She recently made her DC Comics debut in Wonder Woman Black and Gold #2 and is co-writing the Nubia and the Amazons miniseries.