Mortal Kombat II Casts Shares Joe Taslim’s Integral Role During Production

DoubleXP had the chance to cover the press conference for the Mortal Kombat II Global Tour that kicked off in Jakarta, Indonesia, featuring some of the movie’s casts.

Ludi Lin, Max Huang, Tadanobu Asano, and Joe Taslim appeared before fans at Epiwalk Mall in Jakarta on May 3. They are present for the red carpet gala and the movie premiere at the mall’s XXI Theater.

Before the eventful festivities, we also had a chance to interview the cast during a group session. They talked about many interesting things about the movie production.

One interesting part about that is how the casts think that Joe Taslim had an important role during the production of the entire Mortal Kombat movie.

Being cast as Bi-Han, Joe played two different characters: Sub-Zero during the 2021 movie and Noob Saibot in the second one. Aside from being a prolific martial artist, Joe is also known as a fan of the fighting game.

Joe’s role in the movie is so important that Ludi Lin, who plays Liu Kang, thinks that the movie will not go ahead if Joe doesn’t participate.

“Honestly, Mortal Kombat wouldn’t exist without Joe, because if I could bring Simon (McQuaid)—the director, who isn’t here right now—he always says that Joe was the first person he cast in the Mortal Kombat movie,” said Ludi.

Ludi referenced how Christopher Nolan approached his movies, with the director starting from the music and then working his way around that. The same approach is said to be done by McQuaid during the production of the first Mortal Kombat movie.

“That’s exactly what Simon said when he saw Sub-Zero as a character—he knew it had to be Joe. Once Joe said yes to Sub-Zero, he knew Mortal Kombat could really be brought to life,” he continued.

Max Huang, who plays Kung Lao and also has Indonesian lineage, shared the same sentiment. He also likened Joe’s quality as an actor to Tom Hardy, who’s able to convey emotion through his eyes.

“I also need to add this one thing because, to me, Joe is the kind of actor who has a special quality that allows him to act with his eyes. If you watch his 2021 film, you’ll see his talent shine through even while wearing a mask,” mentioned Max.

Hearing such praises, Joe felt thankful. He highlighted the importance of actors’ chemistry during fight scenes to bring these spectacles to life.

“For me, a cool fight isn’t just about being flashy—it’s about the emotional connection between two actors who can truly convey that,” said Joe.

“The fight is energetic and cool, but it’s the emotional depth that breaks your heart—that’s what we call art. Both of them were able to convey such a strong artistic nuance in that work.”

Mortal Kombat II will be available throughout Indonesian theaters starting from May 6.