Few characters from the fighting video game world are as iconic and immediately recognizable as Mortal Kombat‘s Scorpion. Thanks to his unique fighting style combined with his notorious catchphrase (“Get over here!”) and an eye-catching fatality, the former Hanzo Hasashi has become the signature character for the franchise. He will now join the melée in the upcoming live-action Mortal Kombat reboot, where Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada will portray him. Even though Sanada confessed that he previously never played any MK game, he put some effort into studying the character’s origins and importance. According to the actor, he succeeded in adding some perspective to Scorpion.
“When I performed that signature move with the words in the rehearsal on set for the first time, I had a great reaction from the cast and crew,” Sanada revealed while talking with EW. “They said, ‘Yeah! I’ve waited for this moment.’ Then I realized how popular this move is.”
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In the same interview, Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid said that the opening sequence would focus on the birth of Scorpion. Before becoming a ninja specter, he was known as Hanzo Hasashi, a man who lived back in feudal Japan. The character’s origins are pivotal in Sanada’s view, and fans might notice some differences between the game and the live-action in Scorpion’s fighting style.
“I discussed the fighting style with the choreographer and the stunt team and just jumped into rehearsal,” Sanada said. “I tried to create an original style. Since Hanzo Hasashi is a character of Japanese descent, I tried to make authentic movements.”
And while shooting the movie demanded from him more than any film he did “in the last 15 years,” the Japanese actor also stressed that drama has as much importance as action.
“Each fight has a reason with the emotion,” he says. “The audience can understand why he’s fighting, what he’s thinking during the fight.”
The upcoming reboot of Mortal Kombat will hit both theaters and HBO Max on April 16.
What do you expect from Hiroyuki Sanada’s performance as Scorpion? Let us know in the comments section below.
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