Martial Arts Video Games Back on the Big Screen

A few adventurous directors are still trying to find a way to bring popular martial arts video games back to the silver screen.

Dead or Alive made the attempt a few years back, and while helmed by Cory Yuen, still got panned by most martial arts enthusiasts and gamers alike.

Street Fighter took up the reins earlier this year with Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li and found mixed reviews.

Still to come? Tekken and Mortal Kombat 3.

TEKKEN
Tekken is the first to arrive. Set to be a high-octane action movie, the film revolves around a young man, Jin Kazama (character on right), who seeks revenge on the killer of his mother. He reconnects with his grand-father, Heihachi Mishima, and pleads with him to train him in martial arts.

Jin soon finds out that his mother's killer will be fighting in the "King of Iron Fist" tournament and vows to get revenge. Jin must fight the world's most elite group of fighters to achieve his destiny.

While Jet Li had been rumored to play in Tekken some years back, newcomer John Foo (first seen in Tony Jaa’s The Protector and later Batman Begins) has been cast as the lead to play Jin. Of course by now, Jet Li has long since moved on to other types of projects.

HOW FOO GOT THE LEAD
Foo was a trained as a Thai martial arts fighter.

For Tekken, he sent in a demo of himself to the casting directors and was so impressive he was asked to come in for a casting straight-away. The casting director for the film, Kelly Wagner, remarked, "We used a bunch of martial artists that didn't need to have as much of acting roles as they did, but our lead, Jin, had to be able to do both." He was immediately cast after he was brought in.

See a video of John Foo in action below.

Tekken also stars Cung Le as Marshall Law. Kickboxing champion Gary Daniels (pictured top left) plays Bryan Fury. Tekken arrives in theaters in November 2009.

MORTAL KOMBAT
On the subject of a Mortal Kombat sequel, the film is still in pre-production. The director said earlier to Moviehole,  “the project isn't so much a sequel as it is a "re-envisioning  of the Mortal Kombat franchise from top to bottom. Today’s audience is a savvy involved group so the film must be A plus plus in every area in order to capture the magic of the first film.

It is taking the entire concept to the next level across the board in every area visual design, story, cast, FX, photography and most importantly the fighting scenes.”

Sounds like they will start from the beginning with Mortal Kombat, and do a complete overhaul the way the Batman franchise has recently done with success.

Mortal Kombat 3 is tentatively titled Mortal Kombat: Devastation and is scheduled to hit theaters in 2010.

The film is currently casting. Stay tuned for updates.