Mortal Kombat: Annihilationis a so-bad-its-good kind of movie. The movie is a sequel to the successful originalMortal Kombatmovie, but a combination of new actors for old roles and a disconnected storyline doomed it to fail at the box office.
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It’s incredibly fun for what it is: a romp through theMortal Kombatuniverse withunapologetic 90’s filming techniquesand motifs. Look past the nightmarish 3D animation and don’t take it too seriously and you just might have a great time with this cheesy martial arts flick.
Updated June 06, 2025 by Erik Petrovich: Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is one of those films that will never truly disappear. Yes, it is not considered “good” by any stretch of the imagination, but the movie is so over-the-top in its awfulness that it can still be entertaining. As a property, Mortal Kombat is as popular in 2021 as it was in 1997, with the franchise even producing a decent film that might be used as a launching pad for more stories. For all of its flaws, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation does have quite a few fascinating facts attached to it. This article has been expanded to include a few more.
13Mileena Is Played By Dana Hee, A Gold Medalist Olympian…
Mileena is known toMortal Kombatfans for her terrifying set of chompers which have been a part of her character since the very start. InMortal Kombat Annihilation, though, the audience doesn’t get to see Mileena’s iconic fanged mouth, as its hidden by a pink face mask (similar to how she looks while fighting in the games.)
Dana Hee, the 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist for Taekwondo, was the actress behind the mask. Interestingly enough, she was also the stunt double for Kitana in the firstMortal Kombatmovie, and in the series' lore Mileena is a kind of evil-clone-copy of Kitana, meaning that Dana Hee playing both characters makes sense, in a way.
12…And Motaro and Jax Are Played By American Gladiators
While it might be more impressive to many to win an Olympic Gold Medal, the showAmerican Gladiatorswas home to its own champions of martial and physical prowess too. Two of these American Gladiators were featured inMortal Kombat Annihilation: Deron McBee and Lynn “Red” Williams.
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Deron McBee played the centaur warrior Motaro (with two legs, as opposed to four) and Lynn “Red” Williams played Jax. The original casting choice for Jax was Michael Jai White, but he left the movie when he was cast in “Spawn”. Later on, White would be cast as Jax again inMortal Kombat: Legacy.
11Sheeva’s Quick Death Was Due To Budget Cuts
Sheeva is shown inMortal Kombat Annihilationas a kind of feminine version of Prince Goro, though there’s nothing dainty about this bestial warrior. Sheeva hails from Outworld and also has four limbs, but while Goro was able to show all all of his brawn and skill in the firstMortal Kombatmovie, Sheeva never really got a chance to in the sequel.
Played by Marjean Holden, Sheeva was supposed to show off her skills in several special effects-led scenes. Because the movie’s budget was slashed in production, these scenes had to be cut, and as a result Sheeva’s death feels much faster than it probably ought to.
10It’s Loosely Based On The Mortal Kombat 3 Storyline
Mortal Kombat 3’s storyline was based around Shao Kahn, recently defeated by Liu Kang, who revived Queen Sindel not in Outworld but in Earthrealm. He reached across the realms to take her once again, unintentionally merging Outworld and Earthrealm in the process.
The movie differs slightly from this plot (Queen Sindel is just called “the Key” to Shao Kahn’s portals) and Shao Kahn had not yet faced Liu Kang at thebeginning ofMortal Kombat Annihilation. Otherwise, though, the story is very much the same in an overarching sense.
9In The Script, Nightwolf Wears a Stone Temple Pilots Shirt
In the original filming script and novelization ofMortal Kombat Annihilation, Nightwolf had a bit more of a grungy look. Nightwolf originally wore Oakleys and wore a Stone Temple Pilots t-shirt instead of his iconic Native American appearance.
The film came out in 1997, a few years after Grunge took the world by storm and when the Stone Temple Pilots were at their height. It would have been odd to see Nightwolf in Outworld with a Stone Temple Pilots shirt, but then again, there are weirder things that happen inMortal Kombat Annihilationthat were left in.
8Only Two Actors Reprised Their Roles
Robin Shou and Talisa Soto (Liu Kang and Kitana, respectively) were theonlytwo actors from the original movie who reprised their roles inMortal Kombat Annihilation. Raiden, Sonya Blade, Johnny Cage, and even the masked specters Scorpion and Sub-Zero were played by new actors.
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Most of these actors simply refused to sign onto the new project – even though Johnny Cage is only in the movie for the beginning scene, Linden Ashby (the character’s actor in the first movie) declined to take the role again because of the awful script. Additionally, Christopher Lambert had other priorities with his 1999 movieBeowulf.
7Jax’s Bionic Arms Are Given A Completely New Origin Story
Jax’s bionic arms are as iconic to his character as Scorpion is to the game itself. Jax’s arms becoming bionic have many different origins throughout the games, but in all scenarios, his original arms are forcefullyripped off by an enemy– generally Sub-Zero or Kabal.
InMortal Kombat Annihilation, however, Jax’s bionic arms are merely coverings for his still-attached arms. Raiden comments on how his new arms will just get in his way, and in the final scene of the film, he simply discards them.
6There Are More Than 50 Flips Throughout The Film
Mortal Kombat Annihilationis an acrobatics-heavy movie, even more so than the firstMortal Kombatfilm. In fact, according to IMDB, there are 54 total flips that take upsignificant screen spacethroughout the hour and a half movie. That’s about a flip every minute and a half.
There are several infamous scenes where a character flips for no apparent reason. When Shao Kahn talks to his father Shinnok about Raiden, for example, he does a front flip off of his throne just for show. Perhaps they were going for a record…
5Ray Park (Star Wars' Darth Maul) Debuted In Annihilation
Ray Park, known for his role as Darth Maul inStar Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace, had his first movie role inMortal Kombat Annihilation. He plays Raiden’s fight double, as well as a raptor and one of the unnamed Tarkatans that fight Liu Kang.
Ray Park had a much more successful career than this movie’s prospects. Without this initialforay into movie stunts, we might never have gotten the iconicStar Warsvillain.
4Robin Shou (Liu Kang) Was Also The Fight Choreographer
Robin Shou (right) played two roles inMortal Kombat Annihilation, one on-screen as Liu Kang, and one off-screen as the movie’s fight choreographer. Most of the fights in the movie are not badly choreographed at all, especially for the time and the scope of the film.
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However, Shou blames not being on-set for the film’s subpar Scorpion vs Sub Zero fight. He said during an anniversary screening of the film that the rhythm of the fight was all off and blamed the shooting schedule for the misstep.
