Producer Todd Garner has confirmed that fan-favorite fighter character Baraka will appear in the upcoming sequel to 2021’s film adaptation of the “Mortal Kombat” video game franchise.
Garner shared a photo on social media from the set of the production, which began shooting the other day. The photo features a set chair for ‘Baraka,’ confirming that the Tarkatan villain character will appear.
What’s not clear is who will be playing him. However, as the character is essentially a giant mouth of fangs, it may end up being a skilled fighter or stunt person under a ton of makeup.
In the lore Baraka is the General of the Tarkatan Horde, which serves the Empire of Outworld. He’s ever loyal to the villainous emperor Shao Kahn. He also has long, retractable Tarkatan blades that extend from his forearms.
Baraka first appeared as a playable fighter in the 1993 arcade title “Mortal Kombat II” and has since been a staple of the franchise. Dennis Keiffer previously played the character on the screen in the 1997 film “Mortal Kombat Annihilation”.
He joins other characters appearing in the sequel, including Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), Jade (Tati Gabrielle), Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen), Quan Chi (Damon Herriman) and Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford).
In addition, Desmond Chiam will play King Jerrod, a non-playable character from the games. They join returnees Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion and Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero (or more likely Noob Saibot).
“Mortal Kombat 2” is directed by Simon McQuoid from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater.
— Todd Garner (@Todd_Garner) June 26, 2023
