source: ABC

Thrumming, stone arenas adrift in purple hyperspace, neon green acid pits, a Mad Max-esqe dust bowl landscape teeming with human-adjacent creatures sporting giant rows of fangs more commonly seen on angler fish.

These are just some of the otherworldly scenes conjured by local creatives for Mortal Kombat II, but they were all captured on the Gold Coast’s Village Roadshow sound stages while delighted tourists conquered rollercoasters metres away.

Despite having to create multiple different realms here on Earth, the only drawback to filming the video game sequel on the Gold Coast, according to its Australian director Simon McQuoid, was when the $110 million action sequel was caught up in the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes.

The landmark Hollywood industrial action caused an international tools-down for union writers and actors, pushing McQuoid’s production into the storm-filled Queensland summer.

But beyond the once-in-a-generation event, the director “absolutely loved” filming in what has quickly become a very attractive option for big international productions.

“There’s a real confidence from people around the world and in the US about the idea of shooting here,” he says.

“The stages themselves are very, very good. The crews, the stunt teams, the grip department … they are all phenomenal.”

Based on the popular video game series, which started a moral panic in the 90s over its graphic violence, the modern Mortal Kombat movies follow in the footsteps of their gory inspiration.

The first film in 2021 introduced the fantastical realms, full of uncanny inhabitants all competing for planetary freedom in a series of tournaments called Mortal Kombat.

While the original lasered in on MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan), Mortal Kombat II shifts the camera to Katana (Adeline Rudolph), an Edenian princess with fatal blade fans, and Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), an all-American action hero — on the big screen at least.