Exclusive: Mehcad Brooks & Lewis Tan talk about their training for ‘Mortal Kombat’

Hitting theaters and HBO Max simultaneously on April 23 from Warner Bros. is Mortal Kombat, Simon McQuoid’s reimagining and highly-anticipated new adaptation of the hit Midway Games franchise.

The diverse international cast reflects the global nature of the brand, with talent spanning the worlds of film, television and martial arts. The ensemble includes Joe Taslim as Sub Zero; Ludi Lin as Liu Kang; Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade; Josh Lawson as Kano; Tadanobu Asano as Raiden; Mehcad Brooks as Jackson “Jax” Bridges; Chin Han as Shang Tsung; Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion; Max Huang as Kung Lao; Sisi Stringer as Mileena; and Lewis Tan as Cole Young.

In Mortal Kombat, MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage—or why Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family’s safety, Cole goes 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, he 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. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana—the immense power from within his soul—in time to save not only his family, but to stop Outworld once and for all?

While Tan is known for his action roles as Zhou Cheng in Netflix's Iron Fist, Gaius Chau in the AMC series Into the Badlands, Lu Xin Lee in the Netflix's Wu Assassins, Shatterstar in Deadpool 2, this was a new challenge for Brooks, an actor and former fashion model known for his roles as in the second season of ABC's series Desperate Housewives, The Game, USA’s Necessary Roughness and The CW series Supergirl. Both Brooks and Tan talked to BlackFilmandTV.com’s Wilson Morales about the training they did for the film.