At the end of 2021’sMortal Kombat, Cole Young (Lewis Tan) and Hanzo Hasashi, better known as Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), joined forces across generations tofinally kill the ice-cold assassin Bi-Han/Sub-Zero(Joe Taslim). For anyone who has played the games, however, you know that death was not the end for the Lin Kuei warrior. The end ofthe firstMortal Kombat IItrailerintroduced a black-clad spectre donning similar armor and returning from Netherrealm to get his revenge against his old foes. As part ofCollider’s Exclusive Previewevent for upcoming fall movies, we’re excited to share a proper up-close look at Noob Saibot with his empty eyes and a classic look that mimics the source material. DirectorSimon McQuoidwas also able to reveal to Collider’sMaggie Lovitthow the team brought the character and his abilities to life in a way that fit the film.
Noob, named by reversing the last names of creatorsEd BoonandJohn Tobias, has beena staple of the fighting game franchisesince theMortal Kombat IIvideo game was released back in 1993, starting as a secret character before becoming a full-fledged part of the roster inUltimate Mortal Kombat III. Although his early costume was little more than a deep black clone of Scorpion and Sub-Zero, he’d slowly begin to develop his own look as the games progressed. Reflecting his past as Bi-Han, he’d maintain the appearance of a member of the Lin Kuei, but the years of violence he inflicted, combined with his rebirth in Netherrealm, would result in his colorless and twisted new form with the ability to animate his shadow as a clone to help him fight. For McQuoid, it was beyond important to honor the history of the character in a way that doesn’t lose what madeTaslim’s ice-cold, malicious depictionof the former Sub-Zero so beloved. Fortunately, he had the perfect costume designer for the job.
“This version of Bi-Han is a fan-favorite and mysterious character, who demands a costume design thatcaptures the game’s aestheticswhile maintaining the realism of the films. Simply put,he looks awesome because of genius costume designer Cappi Ireland and her amazing team,” the director said, before offering to dig a bit deeper on the fit. McQuoid has been vocal about his love for theMortal Kombatgames, and that’s reflected in Noob/Bi-Han’s design, which mixes materials and methods to create a detailed, shadowy design. “I always want as much detail as possible in every costume, and Bi-Han was no exception. Cappi’s clever use of different textures and finishes created a sense of variation in how light reflected as he moved through the space.”
The final design that made it to the screen borrowed heavily fromMortal Kombat 1, specifically the Khaos Reigns expansion that brought Saibot to the game with an outfit that mixed both reflective armor and the traditional Lin Kuei ninja outfit. Yet, McQuoid teased how the team, under Ireland, went one step further, especially when it came to defining the character’s clone and how it relates to him visually:
“To translate his distinctive ‘shadow wraith’ look onto film, we drew most of our inspiration from the recent version of the game. Cappi had the brilliant idea of creating unique materials and finishes that would reflect the light while always being true to Bi-Han’s singular idea of being a shadow. His body was made of low-gloss textured black rubber under-skin, while his armour was organic in style and featured a dark grey pearlescent reflective finish.The shadow clone within him is a different character, so we needed a different costume and color, but they shared materials, ensuring his unique look was clearly separated from his shadow clone while always being born from the same character.”
‘Mortal Kombat II’s Costumes Elevate the Action to New Heights
Beyond looking cool and accurate on their own, the costumes werealso made with their environment in mind. Scorpion and Bi-Han’s rematch unfoldsin the fires of Netherrealm, and McQuoid believes the new outfitmakes the visuals of the fight popmore against the hellish backdrop. “Since he spends almost all the film in the deep orange-red light of Netherrealm, we knew the costume would reflect the environment and light beautifully,” he continued. A lot of thought was put into the many moving parts, between Scorpion’s chains, Saibot’s clone, and the surrounding fires, to ensure the result isn’t visually cluttered. “The Scorpion vs. Bi-Han fight in Netherrealm was complex, so we used different colors taken from his powers in the games to help the audience distinguish between the characters; dark purple for his shadow, and a dark graphite grey for him.”
It wasn’t entirely smooth sailing in designing the wraith warrior. While bringing Noob’s bone-breaking clone to life was vexing, the director reveals that the greatest hurdle came from his headgear. “The most challenging aspect of his design was his long-sided hat, which can defy physics in the game but can’t in reality,” he revealed. “…so Cappi and her team spent a lot of time creating a design that hung elegantly but also looked awesome at the same time.” Scorpion and Sub-Zero/Noob Saibot’s bitter rivalry may not be the focal point as Earthrealm prepares for its fateful tournament with Outworld, but Boon hasassured they’ll be “very essential"toMortal Kombat II, adding all the more incentive to nail down the little details.
The Roster Has Expanded for ‘Mortal Kombat II’
McQuoid and writerJeremy Slaterare bringing much more action to the table withMortal Kombat IIas the titular tournament is finally about to begin. AfterMortal Kombatbrought together some of Earthrealm’s champions and awakened their arcana, the sequel sees Cole and his allies inviting one more all-important fighter into the fold —action superstar Johnny Cage (Karl Urban). Together, they have to defeat the forces of Outworldled by Shao Khan (Martyn Ford)in a no-holds-barred battle to save their world from being conquered. Withthe introduction of more recognizable fightersfrom the games, thecast has been expanded, withAdeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, andTadanobu Asanoamong the new and returning faces.
Mortal Kombat IIenters the ring in theaters on October 24. Check out our new image above and stay tuned here at Collider for more from ourExclusive Previewseries in the coming days.
Mortal Kombat II
