While we await the imminent release of the first Mortal Kombat trailer, actor Hiroyuki Sanada has provided some insight into his portrayal of beloved character Hanzo Hasashi AKA Scorpion, and it sounds like fans will be incredibly happy indeed. Sanada confirms that Scorpion will utter his famous catchphrases "Come here!" and "Get over here!" in the Mortal Kombat reboot, and that he relished in saying them.

"He has two famous words, a punchline or something, that I really enjoyed."

Hiroyuki Sanada has not realized how popular this aspect of the character was until he saw the reaction from the rest of the crew in rehearsals.

"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. They said, 'Yeah! I've waited for this moment.' Then I realized how popular this move is."

Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid has now revealed that the movie is, in part, about "the birth of Scorpion," and that the opening sequence begins in feudal Japan and kicks off the rivalry between Sanada's Scorpion and Joe Taslim's Sub-Zero. It will during this battle that Hanzo crafts his signature weapon, a spear-headed whip.

"I discussed the fighting style with the choreographer and the stunt team and just jumped into rehearsal," he says. "I tried to create an original style. Since Hanzo Hasashi is a character of Japanese descent, I tried to make authentic movements."

Mortal Kombat has made the interesting choice to introduce a new character to the decade-spanning lore, MMA fighter Cole Young, putting him front and centre of the upcoming reboot. Cole Young is more than accustomed to taking a beating for money, and is blissfully unaware of his heritage, or why Outworld's Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt him down.

Fearing for his family's safety, Cole is forced to go 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, Cole 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.

Mortal Kombat is directed by Simon McQuoid, making his feature film directorial debut, working from a screenplay by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham. The movie stars Wu Assassins actor Lewis Tan as new character and lead, Cole Young. Of course, it would be sacrilegious for Mortal Kombat not to include a few familiar names and faces, and so we have Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson "Jax" Briggs, Josh Lawson as Kano, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han/Sub-Zero, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Max Huang as Kung Lao, and Daniel Nelson as Kabal.

Mortal Kombat is scheduled to be released in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 16, 2021. This comes to us courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.