The Mortal Kombat film series, inspired by the iconic fighting video game franchise developed by Midway Games, began with the 1995 release of Mortal Kombat, produced by Lawrence Kasanoff’s Threshold Entertainment.

It was followed by the 1997 sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Despite the films’ success, financial struggles led Midway to file for bankruptcy. In 2009, Warner Bros., having acquired New Line Cinema in 2008, sought to purchase Midway’s assets, including the Mortal Kombat franchise. This move sparked a legal battle as Kasanoff and Threshold claimed ownership of the characters’ copyrights in bankruptcy court.