Despite the success of the internet series, it looks as if Mortal Kombat will NOT be heading back to the big screen any time soon. Kevin Tancharoen, who steered the web version was the man set to helm the franchise's return to a cinematic scale. Tancharoen revealed in his twitter-feed on Friday that:
“After 3 years of Kombat, I’ve decided to move on to other creative opportunities. I wish everyone involved in the movie big success”
Tancharoen, who also directed the big-screen Glee concert movie and the 2009 Fame revamp had had a notable success with the internet version which was initially a labour of love and unsanctioned by Warner Bros. However after it received so much praise and attention, he was allowed to continue... with the visits to his YouTube channel generating - literally - tens of millions of hits.
Mortal Kombat has had an interesting evolution, from one of the first cult computer games to a successful franchise (initially featuring the likes of Highlander's Christopher Lambert, the first film generated over $120 million in 1995, just three years after the game launched). In more recent times, the rights were bought by New Line/Warners in a deal which also included the likes of Spy Hunter and Joust.
It isn't known if there has been any immediate attempt to bring in another director. It seems possible that the departure of Tancharoen may not derail the attempts to get Mortal Kombat back on the big screen, but given that he was the major force behind recent interest, it could significantly delay the process.
