Watch Brutal 7-Minute Opening Scene of HBO Max’s ‘Mortal Kombat’

FIGHT!

Warner Bros. Pictures dropped the entire seven-minute opening sequence of HBO Max’s epically bloody Mortal Kombat movie reboot, and it sets the stage for a vengeful battle between key characters.

Hypebeast reports that the setting is 1617 Japan, where the wife, baby, and young son of Hanzo Hasashi (aka Scorpion) are attacked by Sub-Zero. The older child escapes, but the wife and baby are frozen to death. Hasashi in turn absolutely devastates the otherworldly Cryomancer’s henchmen and vows to kill him, at which point a short trailer rolls. 

What’s not immediately obvious is that Hasashi’s living son will grow up to become MMA Cole Young, who is unaware of his heritage and doesn’t understand why Sub-Zero is still hunting him down years later. Here’s the official plot synopsis: 

Fearing for his family’s safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark

Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao and rogue mercenary Kano, as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana—the immense power from within his soul—in time to save not only his family, but to stop Outworld once and for all?

A diverse ensemble cast stars Lewis Tan (Deadpool 2) as Young, Jessica McNamee (The Meg) as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson (Bombshell) as Kano, Tadanobu Asano (Midway) as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl) as Jackson “Jax” Bridges, and Ludi Lin (Aquaman) as Liu Kang.  

Mortal Kombat hits theaters everywhere on April 23 before arriving on HBO Max 31 days later.