Ludi Lin & Max Huang Interview: Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat, arriving on April 23, will be incorporating decades of videogame history that goes all the way back to the beginning of the franchise. In fact, original protagonist Liu Kang is still the heart of the story, with the iconic Kung Lao right by his side.

Ludi Lin and Max Huang, who play the two warriors, spoke to Screen Rant about taking on their roles and what aspects of the larger universe they hope to explore in future films.

I know both of you were fans of the franchise before being cast. Once production started, was there a moment when you realize that you’re bringing this game to life?

Ludi Lin: Probably as soon as we were cast, and as soon as we stepped on set. Because when we started the film, soon as I spoke to Simon, our director, I realized that his vision is to build a universe around this thing. And his universe is a very gritty, very physical universe that actually pays homage to a lot of things that come out of the 90s, before we had all the CG magic.

So we stepped into the Outback of Australia, which looks like Outworld in itself. And the cast, with a person like Nathan Jones who plays Reiko – he’s like eight feet tall, 300 pounds on a skinny day walking around. As soon as I saw that, I’m like, “Yeah, I’m in this world.” My kid self went, “Yeah, you’re in it now, man. You’re not getting out until this is done.”

I wouldn’t even want out at that point. Let’s talk about the characters just for a second. Kung Lao has one of the top five most iconic weapons in the Mortal Kombat franchise with his razor-sharp hat. Can you talk to me a little bit about the fighting style that you developed for the character?

Max Huang: It’s an interesting question. I think, as an actor and also a martial artist, I just want with this character especially to show emotion through motion. Or if you want, to move someone through movement. That was my approach, because I think the highest art of martial arts filmmaking is if you can express yourself and reach the audience and really catch them.

For Kung Lao, I was very lucky that the background I was training in when I started with martial arts was exactly the same background that Kung Lao was training in – which was Shaolin style. It’s more of a southern Kung Fu style, with the wing chun punches and the crane and the tiger. So, it came very natural to me, and it was a blast. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Liu King has always been one of the more grounded characters in the franchise. In what ways did you want to express his humanity in this ensemble?

Ludi Lin: I think for Liu Kang, in terms of this rendition of Mortal Kombat – which I always think of as a reincarnation – Simon wanted this Mortal Kombat to be around the theme of blood. Blood as in blood family, blood line, blood feud. So, for me, Liu Kang has been there since the beginning of Mortal Kombat. He’s like the heart that pumps blood throughout the universe, and you can’t live without the heart, and the heart is what grounds you.

And also in Liu Kang’s heart, he comes from a very complicated history and very traumatic history. There’s a lot of things inside that he wants to express, and one of the most important things for him is the family that he finds in Kung Lao. Kung Lao actually acts as a sheath for his fury; for his sword. They’re like a yin and a yang, and that’s the most important relationship in his life.

As fans of the franchise, where would you like to see Mortal Kombat go next cinematically?

Max Huang: I think because the world and all the realms and the whole universe of Mortal Kombat is so big and it’s constantly growing – that’s the beauty of it, that it’s constantly evolving – I think that I would love to see a Shaolin monk spin-off. Telling Liu Kang and Kung Lao’s original story. That would be the ultimate dream, because I have so many ideas that I would love to put it in there. And that would be my favorite.

Ludi Lin: I would spin off of that, because I think the end of the movie leaves a perfect setup for that series. Liu Kang loses something that’s really important to him, without missing any spoilers. It’s another world and a perfect opportunity to walk through some of those doors.