MORTAL KOMBAT Shorts Hit The Web In April! Feature To Follow In 2012?

Back in June director Kevin Tancharoen, fight choreographer Larnell Stovall and star Michael Jai White left jaws on the floor with a fantastically dark and gritty, seven minute long tease of a brutal new spin on the universe of Mortal Kombat. Yes, the classic fighting video game was on the screen again and looking darker and more brutal than it ever has before - a very good thing in this context - but the question was why. Why did this thing exist? Was it a tease for the upcoming new installment of the video game series? Was it a promo for the long rumored new movie? Was it something some talented guys with famous friends did just for fun? Nobody knew.

But now we do. Bloody Disgusting have broken word of an upcoming series of ten Mortal Kombat short films coming to the web in the spring, also to be directed by Tancharoen, with confirmation that Michael Jai White will appear as Jax and speculation that other franchise characters due to appear will include Shang Tsung, Liu Kang, Sub Zero, Durak, Kabal, Kitana/Mileena and Scorpion. That's all they have but we can go a step farther ...

ScreenAnarchy's sources tell us that the first short will appear online in April to coincide with the release of the new video game. And we're hearing that Raiden, Cyrax, Sektor and Kung Lao are also on the slate. Beyond White I've heard rumblings of some other big names in the fight world taking part but none of those are firm enough to release at present but fight fans will have reason to be happy. Making sure these guys are put to good use will be fight choreographer Larnell Stovall, also returning to the fold.

But the biggest news? While it does not yet appear to be one hundred percent definite these ten short films are apparently not just a PR vehicle for the game but have also been designed to lay down a new storyline and generate a new look and feel for the franchise leading directly in to a new big screen installment in 2012. So, yes, what you're seeing here will be coming to the big screen assuming all goes well.

More info as we get it but, in the meantime, take a moment to acquaint yourself with the short that got all the buzz started in the first place. You'll find it below.