Mortal Kombat II Star Max Huang Wants a Kung Lao and Liu Kang Shaolin Monks Spinoff Movie

Most who person seen the precocious released Mortal Kombat II agree: the combat betwixt Liu Kang and Kung Lao is the champion successful the movie.

Liu Kang, played by Ludi Lin, and Kung Lao, played by Max Huang, are successful afloat martial arts movie prima mode arsenic they zip astir a large surface adaptation of the iconic Portal signifier from the Mortal Kombat video games. Kung Lao, revived arsenic an undead Revenant aft biting the particulate successful the erstwhile movie, fights for Outworld against a fired up Liu Kang. The erstwhile champion friends are present deadly foes, destined to combat to the death.

Huang and Lin are successful apical signifier here, but the combat itself — without spoiling thing — is the movie's astir effectual astatine fusing VFX into stuntwork. Liu Kang displays plentifulness of occurrence power, but Kung Lao’s razor crisp hat, possibly the astir iconic limb successful each of Mortal Kombat, steals the show. It darts this mode and that arsenic if it were a 3rd subordinate of the fight. The mode some Huang and Lin enactment with it arsenic good arsenic against it portion battling each different is genuinely impressive. As a result, Liu Kang vs Kung Lao is the centrepiece of Mortal Kombat II — and it leaves america wanting more.

In an interrogation with IGN, Huang revealed the eight-month prep enactment for his instrumentality arsenic Kung Lao, this clip arsenic a villain, and his combat with Ludi Lin. He told america that helium really trained with a shaolin monk to assistance him get into quality (in the games Kung Lao and Liu Kang are Shaolin monks). “I wanted to springiness Kung Lao much extent and I wanted to bring him backmost to his origin,” Huang explained.

Preparing for the fight, the brace utilized an iPhone to grounds each different portion trying to seizure the aforesaid framing for each the movements we spot successful the movie. Huang and Lin filmed their combat country for a coagulated week. Huang, who performed astir each his ain stunts, called the acquisition “brutal.” At 1 constituent — time six, helium said — helium was lying connected the level and was meant to get up, but conscionable couldn’t. “I was like, okay, I conscionable request 1 minute,” helium said.

But his acquisition filming Mortal Kombat is simply a barroom locomotion compared to his decade-long enactment arsenic a subordinate of the large Jackie Chan’s stunt team. “In China, we utilized to person sometimes 16-18 hr days of nonstop working, and you would beryllium fortunate if determination was java astir connected set. It's conscionable like, ‘Boom, boom, boom, 1 changeable aft another. And I consciousness similar erstwhile I travel to Hollywood, it's astir similar a abrogation to beryllium honest. You enactment with Jackie Chan and you're not amazed by immoderate different enactment plan oregon enactment team.”

Kung Lao and Liu Kang look disconnected successful Mortal Kombat II. Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

On screen, Kung Lao effortlessly interacts with his hat, commanding it arsenic if with his mind. It moves highly quickly; arsenic a spectator it’s sometimes hard to support up, but the chapeau makes the combat genuinely special. Of course, mastering the chapeau took a large woody of work. Thankfully for Huang, his inheritance successful Chinese kung fu gave him a earthy advantage.

“The doctrine successful Chinese martial arts is ever to heighten the limb arsenic portion of your body,” Huang explained. “And I effort to bash the aforesaid with the hat. The attack was to bring it each unneurotic and marque the chapeau go portion of Kung Lao alternatively of being separate.”

Huang distanced himself from the well-trodden thought that performing successful combat scenes is similar performing successful a dance. Indeed, helium insisted combat scenes aren’t adjacent choreographed, erstwhile it comes down to it. “It's really the other and it's precise spontaneous,” helium said. “It's precise reactive retired of the moment. If you look astatine the UFC, you ne'er cognize what the adjacent infinitesimal volition springiness you. There's ever a astonishment that lies ahead.”

Instead, Huang tries to find “the information of the moment” wrong his enactment scenes, alternatively than fuss implicit cautiously choreographed movements. “I'm not truly funny successful choreography to beryllium honorable with you,” helium said.

“I'm much funny successful the transportation betwixt the 2 characters and what it is about,” Huang continued. “What bash we privation to express? I deliberation that's portion of the crushed wherefore this country works truthful well, due to the fact that alternatively of conscionable moving successful a fancy way, this combat is telling a story.”

When you’re playing Kung Lao, you don’t conscionable person to hole physically, you person to bash your video crippled research. For Huang, that came earlier helium filmed 2021’s Mortal Kombat, and it revolved astir Mortal Kombat 11. He looked astatine Kung Lao successful that game, settled connected his apical 5 iconic movements, and studied those to seizure the essence of the character’s style.

Based connected what we're treated to on-screen, each the hard enactment has paid off. “A immense magnitude of clip went into this one,” Huang said of Mortal Kombat II's Liu Kang and Kung Lao fight, “but I americium personally beauteous blessed with the result. It’s astir apt the champion combat country I've done truthful far. It’s the combat of my life.”

Warning! Spoilers for Mortal Kombat II follow:

At this point, we’ll veer into spoiler territory for Mortal Kombat II. Liu Kang ends up utilizing Kung Lao’s chapeau against him, tearing the Revenant successful fractional successful typically gory fashion. Eventually, Liu Kang seemingly ascends to godhood — thing that won't astonishment anyone who’s played caller Mortal Kombat video games — and helium vows to rescue his aged person from the afterlife (this is Mortal Kombat, it’s astir apt champion not to dwell connected logic).

The upshot is Kung Lao volition instrumentality for Mortal Kombat III, and Liu Kang’s rescue enactment volition beryllium 1 of the main storylines successful the sequel. Poor Kung Lao doesn’t person a peculiarly awesome endurance rate; helium died successful each of the Mortal Kombat movies truthful far. It’s harmless to presume Kung Lao volition get different spell successful Mortal Kombat III, but what does Huang privation to spot hap to his character?

“Well, archetypal of all, I anticipation that helium doesn't endure different death!” Huang said, keeping his cards adjacent to his chest. “Give him a break, fto him unrecorded for a second. But yeah, there's truthful galore possibilities wherever this full franchise tin go.”

With Mortal Kombat III already successful the works, possibly the powers that beryllium volition besides see spinoffs. If that happens, Huang — similar Lin — would emotion to spot a Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks film. This would beryllium an breathtaking imaginable for fans considering Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is simply a video crippled spinoff itself. The 2005 enactment escapade crippled sees players power the eponymous Shaolin monks Liu Kang and Kung Lao arsenic they support Earthrealm from the forces of Outworld. It's casual to spot a movie mentation bash overmuch the same, portion fleshing retired some characters' backstories.

“Something that I personally would emotion to research would beryllium a Shaolin Monks spinoff,” Huang said. “Ludi has talked astir it. I've been talking astir it. It would beryllium large to spot those 2 characters' origins and however they were raised by Bo' Rai Cho and trained and exploring the White Lotus. Yeah, the lore of Mortal Kombat is huge.”

After his show successful Mortal Kombat II, Max Huang mightiness conscionable get his wish.

For more, cheque retired IGN’s Mortal Kombat II review. And erstwhile you’re done with that, cheque retired the biggest burning questions we person going into Mortal Kombat III.

Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].