La Ron S. Readus
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The True Identity of Lewis Tan’s Cole Young (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2021-01-18 21:00:03 +0000 UTCWhat? There’s something DIFFERENT? What are you talking about? There’s nothing different. Stop being weird. You’re being weird.
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Readers, not only are we finally getting the Mortal Kombat reboot with a Japanese actor actually portraying a character inspired by a Japanese god (Yes, I’m still furious that this is the first time it’s actually happening; SHUT UP)
But after YEARS -- and it is officially years now -- we FINALLY have an answer to the age-old question that at least I have been asking since the initial announcement of his casting.
WHO THE FUCK IS LEWIS TAN PLAYING IN THE MORTAL KOMBAT REBOOT???
(Holds up hands in surrender) I’m fine. (Pauses) I’m fine.
Now this is thanks to a tweet Lewis posted on January 14th 2021.
/In which all was said was “Tomorrow will be flawless”/
For those of us anticipating something -- ANYTHING about this movie, especially now that we know this is one of the films on Warner Brothers roster that’ll have simultaneous theatrical and HBO Max releases due to the current health and safety crisis causing them to think of new avenues to release the movies they’ve been delaying, we thought this APPROPRIATELY meant that we’d finally receive a teaser trailer. Especially considering its release date is April 16 2021.
/In actuality, it was an exclusive first look article published by Entertainment Weekly on Friday January 15th, which featured plenty of stills of the cast on set in costume/
This included Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. Which, if you saw my video about who I thought Lewis Tan was gonna be cast as, I initially thought he was going to play.
And while I was indeed wrong about Lewis playing Kung Lao, we did get some information regarding who it was he’s going to be playing.
That character is a brand new one named Cole Young.
Again, Readers. I’ve read the comments on my prediction video. I’ve seen the name Cole Young pop up MULTIPLE TIMES
But just like how I don’t like putting all of my Spider-Men in the same basket unless said basket has been confirmed by credible news sources, I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions regarding the legitimacy of Lewis Tan playing an original character.
Especially since him playing such a character -- along with how the description for him at first glance -- made me afraid that they were giving him the ol’ Resident Evil Alice treatment.
But then, I actually read the WHOLE description regarding Lewis Tan’s Cole Turner. And Readers, I don’t think Cole Turner’s an original character. And something tells me that YOU don’t, either.
But for those of you who are still wondering where I’m getting at, let’s dissect the article’s section about Mr. Turner, shall we?
According to the interview, Cole is a washed up MMA Fighter. So, right there, not a different take on Johnny Cage.
But then he gives us more information about how his arc in the Mortal Kombat movie is going to be about -- and I quote -- discovering where he comes from.
Now this was the part of the interview where I started to think to myself:
Oh, no. Are they making him the male version of Alice from the Resident Evil movies? I-I don’t know if I can take another one of those.
But the more I read, the more things started to make sense in context, because the rest of the description says, and I quote:
/Cole knows nothing of his heritage aside from the mysterious birthmark on his chest -- in the shape of the Mortal Kombat symbol...It remains the only clue Cole has when the sinister sorcerer and emperor of the realm Outworld Shang Tsung sends Sub-Zero, now with his cryomancy powers to hunt him down. Endquote/
Now we know that the Sub-Zero in question is Bi-Han, played by Indonesian Chinese actor Joe Taslim. And while I might have been wrong about Lewis Tan playing Kung Lao, one of the things I truly feel I’m right about is how the director and casting director are taking into consideration everyone’s nationalities into who plays who and not just casting any and all asians for whatever role needs to be filled.
It’s the reason why Ludi Lin is playing Liu Kang, it’s the reason why The Collector from The Dark Knight is playing Shang Tsung, and its the reason why A JAPANESE ACTOR IS FINALLY PLAYING A CHARACTER INSPIRED BY A JAPANESE GOD, JESUS CHRIST!
(Holds up hands in surrender) I’m sorry...I’m sorry. It just slipped out.
With that being said, Bi Han belongs to the Lin Kuei, which are of Chinese descent. Which is part of the reason why Joe Taslim is playing him. Lewis Tan however, is British Chinese. And considering the role of Kung Lao is taken by Chinese German actor Max Huang, along with the fact that the article informs us that a Sub-Zero-fied Bi Han has been sent by Shang Tsung to hunt Cole down, I think its safe to say that we’re able to put two and two together here regarding we the audience not only “discovering where he comes from,” but who he TRULY is.
Lewis Tan’s Cole Turner is Bi Han’s long lost brother, Kuai Lang.
The way I see it happening is that when the two interact the first time, it’s gonna prompt him to join the Mortal Kombat tournament and slowly yet surely discover that he was part of the Lin Kuei but was spirited away outside the clan before Shang Tsung takes control of the clan. Y’know, because as far as we know, Quan Chi isn’t in this movie.
He was probably adopted at an extremely young age to only have memory of his life with his family the Turners, only for them to tell him when he’s older because that’s still a pretty popular trope.
Then, over the course of the movie, he finds out that the Mortal Kombat mark on him means he’s destined to restore the Lin Kuei clan from becoming robots similar to the three recent games in the new timeline after he finds out his birth name is actually Kuai Lang
Then, just as him and Bi Han decide to work together after they discover the truth, that’s when Bi Han gets the boot and gets that hot ass Noob Saibot skin! Making room for him to take up his brothers mantle and promoting Lewis Tan to Sub-Zero in the sequel
Give or take a few different things for variety sake, but I feel that’s pretty much gonna be his arc in this movie and the next.
But, if you need more speculative proof that this is more than likely the direction the movie is gonna take Lewis Tan’s character
/He tweeted out this gif of the revealed footage of Joe Taslim forming Sub-Zero’s patented ice sword a day later, with the text “I Got Chills.”/
I GOT CHILLS. (Gestures to the heavens)
Now a lot of people who saw my original video on who I guessed Lewis Tan would originally be, definitely left comments on the video saying that because of Tan’s IRL heritage and the casting taking that into consideration with a lot of the roles they’ve been pairing for this movie, that he might actually BE Kuai Lang despite Taslim already being cast as Bi Han.
And while there was definitely a possibility back then he could be playing Kuai Liang, I, personally, always felt the first movie was too early to introduce him when we still have a whole movie to experience Bi Han as Sub Zero.
But if they go the route of Cole Turner finding OUT that he’s a descendant of the Lin Kuei that was raised in America or wherever, with no memory of where he came from or his heritage...
Only to be hunted down by Bi Han Sub Zero and discover that’s his actual brother and find out that his birth name is Kuai Liang
That could actually help set up him becoming Sub Zero proper and let Taslim transition to Noob Saibot in the sequel if this one does good enough to let Warner Brothers greenlight one.
Has this angle been done before? Yes. Do I care? No! It’s a good angle.
Anyone who’s able to read between the lines of the info Entertainment Weekly gave us about this character and is familiar with noticeable aspects of storytelling knows that they’re either doing one of two things:
They’re either saying that Cole Turner is an original character as a way to attempt to throw us off but actually made us hip to the “long lost Lin Kuei” storyline by saying he knows nothing about his past, has a mysterious tattoo on him and is being chased by the Bi Han Sub-Zero as context clues, or they’re taking a page out of Paul Anderson’s book and making him the male version of the Resident Evil film franchise’s Alice.
And as much as I know that the folks at Hollywood LOVE to make the same mistakes twice, I’m hoping they don’t do it with this one...
But I digress, Readers. Your homework assignment for the day:
Write in the comment section below whether or not YOU think Lewis Tan’s Cole Turner is just Bi Han’s long lost little brother Kuai Liang in the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot
Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, what you think of the first look stills we have so far.
Whichever you decide to answer, I’d love to know your thoughts.
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But until then, this is Readus 101. Class dismissed.
