Highlander actor Christopher Lambert says a new live-action Mortal Kombat film is in development and he's in talks to return to play Raiden after sitting out the abysmal Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.
French actor Christopher Lambert, best known for playing Ducan McCleod in the Highlander film series says he's currently in talks with producers to reprise his role as Raiden in a new Mortal Kombat feature film. Lambert played the Lightning God in the first 1995 film before declining to reprise the role in the 1997 sequel. He was replaced by James Remar. Lambert tells Loaded, "They have a great idea for the third one. It will be very different. We are going to be travelling through time, but in a very special way. So imagine characters having a battle in the middle of London and then whoosh, you smash through a window and find yourself on the hood of a New York cab."
Following the 1997 sequel, Warner Bros. appeared at a bit of a loss regarding what to do with the video game IP. However, director Kevin Tancharoen showed them the way in 2010 with his gritty, real world Mortal Kombat: Rebirth short, starring Michael Jai White. That project got the attention of WB, who commissioned Tancharoen to helm a 2011 Machinima digital web series, Mortal Kombat: Legacy. The second season was released in 2013. There were also plans for Tancharoen to helm a Mortal Kombat reboot film, separate from the web series, however, the project stalled and Tancharoen departed for other creative opportunities (he's since directed episodes of Arrow and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). A new web series, related to the release of Mortal Kombat X, was rumored for release in 2016 but there's been very little updates on the project and it appears to have stalled.