Who is Cole Young in the Mortal Kombat movie?

The new Mortal Kombat The film hits HBO Max and theaters April 23, bringing Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden, and a dozen other classic (and not-so-classic) combatants back to the big screen. Mortal KombatDirected by first-time fictional filmmaker Simon McQuoid, there is also one major departure: the film introduces an entirely new original character into mythology called Cole Young.

Cole’s introduction to the Mortal Kombat franchise was controversial from the start when his character was revealed in early casting leaks, but he does play a major role in the new film. He effectively replaces serial veteran Johnny Cage as Mortal KombatInsert ‘s audience. Like Cage, he’s over his head, but Cole doesn’t participate in a mystical multi-dimensional tournament for ego-driven reasons. Cole is a failed mixed martial arts fighter who inadvertently finds himself being the target of forces beyond his understanding and must fight for Earth alongside Liu Kang, Raiden, Jax and Sonya Blade.

And, as in teased Mortal KombatCole has followers of the serial mascot Scorpion both openly and subtly. Here is everything you need to know about Cole Young.

Who is Cole Young?

At the beginning of Mortal KombatWe learn that Cole Young (played by Lewis Tan) is an MMA fighter of the past who occasionally collects $ 200 checks by participating in sketchy battle cards. He has a wife and daughter, a killer uppercut, and a birthmark in the shape of the Mortal Kombat dragon logo on his chest. As shown in the trailer, Special Forces soldier Jax Cole tells the dragon mark he was born with, meaning he was chosen to defend Earth (aka Earthrealm) in Mortal Kombat. But Cole doesn’t know Why

[Warning: Spoilers for Mortal Kombat follow.]

Courtesy Warner Bros. Entertainment

Why is Cole “Chosen” for Mortal Kombat?

During the prologue of the film, the man who would become a Scorpio battles Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada), centuries before Bi-Han (Joe Taslim) before he becomes the ninja known as Sub-Zero. Hasashi’s daughter survives the attack, is rescued by Raiden and continues the bloodline. Cole is a descendant of Hasashi, but the two have a blood bond that goes beyond a simple ancestral relationship. Indeed, Cole is the key to a prophecy that the wizards of the outside world, Shang Tsung and Sub-Zero, are very, very concerned about. While Cole isn’t the only hero of the Mortal Kombat – this is a real team effort – he deserves his place next to people like Liu Kang, Sonya Blade and Jax.

Is Cole Young Secretly Johnny Cage?

No.

Is he secretly another famous Mortal Kombat fighter?

No. (At least not yet. Who knows? Maybe he’ll be Cyrax if they can Mortal Kombat Sequels.)

What are Cole Young’s powers?

Cole’s powers – known as Arcana in Mortal Kombat – manifest in a life or death situation and grant him supernatural body armor and a pair of arm blades. This is how Lewis Tan Coles described Arcana in an interview with Polygon.

“You were described by me [director Simon McQuoid] as protection for the legacy that runs through the Cole Young bloodline, ”Tan said. “If you look closely at the basket that the great-great-great-grandmother was placed in at the beginning of the film, you can see that the same webbing / cross-hatch is there [Cole’s] Suit is the same as what was on that basket. It’s the same design. [It’s] Not just the design that saved this baby, but the design that saved his bloodline, and it’s a design that physically protects his body.

“He also has a blade similar to the Kunai [Scorpion] has, that can come from his arms. And he can use that blade and swing it around. The weapon is called Tonfa. But it is bladed – they usually don’t look like it. So it’s like twisting that gun. His Arcana is his family, his bloodline and his identity. And that’s what he’s looking for throughout the film. When he finally finds it, not only is it what saves his life and family, but it is deeply linked to his legacy and who he is. “

Is Cole a good addition to the movie?

For sure! Not only is a Cole a skilled fighter, thanks to the martial arts of actor Tan, he is also the solid, human center of the film. He is also allowed to watch the movie “Shouldn’t Kombat be written with a C?” Joke.

“We obviously knew that adding a new character was a little controversial,” Tan told me in an interview. “[But] It doesn’t really match Mortal Kombat because they add a lot of new characters. But we knew it was going to be a topic people would talk about, so I was ready and willing to take that and deliver an authenticity with the martial arts and deliver a good emotional performance that the movie could – and do Cole could deserve his place in the Mortal Kombat universe. [We want to] Not only do people like the movie, but they are also interested in the character, its backstory, how it fights and who he is. “

Will Cole be in future Mortal Kombat films?

If they do a sequel, almost certainly. At the end of the film, we see Cole set off for Hollywood to find more fighters for the next Mortal Kombat tournament, particularly in-fiction actor Johnny Cage, the only character from the original Mortal Kombat Roster that does not appear (in the flesh) in the film.

Will Cole be in future Mortal Kombat games?

It is possible. Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios hasn’t announced any plans to get Cole to do it Mortal Kombat 11 – and you would think that if it was planned the developer would do so around the release of the Mortal Kombat Film for optimal synergy. But the game studio also said it wasn’t finished MK11 barely, even after the release of the aftermath Extension. And NetherRealm paid tribute to Mortal Kombat’s cinematic past in MK11Maybe it does something similar for the present.