Fans of the highly anticipated video game movie Mortal Kombat are going to have to wait a little longer to watch Sub-Zero rip out someone’s spin on the big screen. New Line Cinema's live-action adaptation of the notoriously violent video game franchise has been pushed back another week, and the decision likely to comes down to New Lines parent company Warner Bros.

A new Mortal Kombat movie has been in the works for decades. The franchise originally saw a 1995 movie adaptation and a sequel two years later. Both films were eviscerated by critics and audiences and were widely considered to be commercial failures. As a result, a third film has been trapped in development hell for the past twenty or so years. Warner Bros. eventually acquired the rights to the franchise and began developing a new movie with one of its production companies, New Line Cinema. In 2010, director Kevin Tancharoen released an eight-minute short film that showcased what he could do with a live-action adaptation.

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After the short film went viral and popularity for the film grew, the Mortal Kombat project was green-lit with Tancharoen attached as director. However, due to various budget constraints and scheduling conflicts, the film was eventually abandoned. In 201, Fast & Furious franchise director James Wan signed on as a producer with Simon McQuoid attached to direct and the film was once again back on. Last month, the first bloody trailer for Mortal Kombat was released online and was incredibly well-received by fans and critics alike. The trailer has gone on to break records by becoming the most-watched red band trailer in history, beating out both Deadpool and Logan.

This isn’t the first time the film has been delayed. Mortal Kombat was originally going to be released on March 5, 2021, before being moved up to January 15. It was then delayed again due to the COVID-19 pandemic before it was finally scheduled for release on April 16. As with Warner Bros.' other 2021 releases, Mortal Kombat will debut simultaneously in theatres and HBO Max on the same day. The video game movie is just one of many big studio films that have seen a constantly shifting released date due to the pandemic. Franchise movies like Marvel Studios' Black Widow and the latest film in the Fast & The Furious franchise have both been delayed multiple times.

The new movie has now once again been pushed back, but unlike before, it’s actually due to the hype from another Warner Bros film. Godzilla vs. Kong was recently released in theatres and on HBO Max. The monster film is performing well, bringing in lots of money and receiving generally decent reviews, so Deadline reports that it’s likely that Warner Bros. wants to give that film a little more time to breathe, rather than have the company be in direct completion with itself.

Mortal Kombat will now be released in theatres and on HBO Max on April 23rd, 2021.

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Source: Deadline