Mortal Kombat movie with James Wan finds its Sub-Zero

Little is known about what bone-crunching, side-splitting, blood-curdling action awaits us for the James Wan-produced Mortal Kombat movie, but one thing is for sure: Sub-Zero is getting in on the fun.

Joe Taslim, the martial arts expert and actor from The Raid: Redemption and Fast & Furious 6, has been tapped to play the classic videogame character with a supernatural mastery of ice in Warner Bros.’ new film, EW has learned.

A rep for Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

Taslim marks the first official casting for the film, which will shoot in Australia later this year with director Simon McQuoid, and his involvement reaffirms this adaptation’s commitment to the physical performances required of a live-action Mortal Kombat movie.

The 38-year-old Indonesian native is skilled in various styles of martial arts, but he’s won multiple gold medals in national championships with Judo. Taslim parlayed his prowess into stunt-heavy roles, more recently in Netflix’s super bloody (even more bloody than previous Mortal Kombat movies) The Night Comes For Us. He also stars in Cinemax’s 1800s-set TV series Warrior.

Official plot details for Mortal Kombat are unknown at this time. The film follows this year’s release of Mortal Kombat 11, the latest (and highly praised) fighting videogame, wherein Sub-Zero gets updated abilities, like his ice axe and ice slide moves.

Wan, who recently directed Aquaman for Warner Bros., produces Mortal Kombat with Todd Garner. Larry Kasanoff, E. Bennett Walsh, Michael Clear, and Sean Robins will executive produce.

The film is currently set for release on March 5, 2021.

The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report the news.

Related content:

• James Wan-produced Mortal Kombat movie to shoot later this year
• Mortal Kombat reboot targets Simon McQuoid as director
• Mortal Kombat 11 is a bloody good, if familiar, fighting game: EW review