Mortal Kombat writer talks why Rain was removed from new movie

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The Mortal Kombat videogame franchise has a plethora of characters and backstories to dive into so I would imagine that when adapting the game for the screen, it would be hard to decide who should make the cut. The new film features many fan-favorite fighters from the game and with plans for multiple sequels, more characters are bound to be revealed and explored. One character that was rumored to be in the new Mortal Kombat was Rain but writer Greg Russo is revealing while he was in the initial script that he received, he ultimately decided not to include him.

Russo was chatting with "ComicBook.com" and he was asked about the Rain rumors. Russo did confirm that he was in a version of the script from a long time ago but he decided to take the character out because he felt the script didn't do him justice:

"Somebody talked about that Rain had been in… And he was. He was in a script at a certain point a long time ago. First of all, I was lobbying to remove it because I felt that he wasn't… I inherited that, and I felt like he wasn't done justice. And whenever I inherited or saw anything that I didn't think was right for the fans, I was like, "Let's get that the hell out of there."

The purple-clad Rain is actually provided with two origin stories in the videogame that could be used in a future film. In one story, he's the descendant of Argus, the protector god of Edenia. In another backstory, he's orphaned at a young age by Shao Kahn's conquest, Edenia. This leads to Rain being raised under the tutelage of Edenia resistance fighters. Given the fact that Rain was one of many Mortal Kombat characters given an extensive origin story (in his case two), it makes sense that Russo didn't want to just shoehorn him in without giving fans of the character the proper introduction to him in the films that they deserve. Russo goes on to reveal that the initial script he received for Mortal Kombat needed to be reworked a lot because it needed to be more in line with the lore of the videogames:

"That was a long process, was just slowly chipping away at the stuff that I felt was inaccurate or a disservice. That was just an example. Things get taken out for many different reasons. But in terms of lobbying for things and how much control I have over it, I actually have a lot. I mean, I basically picked the rosters, I guess. I chose the fighters, so to speak, and so I hope you guys like the choices."

The new Mortal Kombat features a cast of fighters ready to engage in bloody fatalities and it's already a pretty crowded affair. The cast includes Mehcad Brooks as Jackson "Jax" Briggs, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Sisi Stringer as Mileena, Josh Lawson as Kano, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Max Huang as Kung Lao Max, and Lewis Tan as an all-new character, Cole Young. 

Do YOU think Rain should've been included? What characters would you like to see in the Mortal Kombat sequel?