While it is by no means simple or easy to create good movie adaptations of any kind of story, there are some unique challenges associated with adapting video games. The way that games tell their stories is very different from film, because games are by nature interactive and have to serve up many more hours of content. We wanted to learn from Russo, though, what he thinks each medium can learn from the other.
Russo went on to detail how it feels for him to get to work on a franchise like Mortal Kombat, a franchise that is so near and dear to his heart as well as the hearts of countless other fans. It seems he grew up in an era when many game adaptations were not made by people who really understood or cared about the source material, and it became a driving factor in his direction as a writer.
On the flipside, there are some things that storytelling does that video games still struggle with. A lot of them are there, and are pulling from the storytelling they see in films, the character development. I would just say for games: keep taking the time to develop characters. There’s some amazing stuff out there right now, like Hellblade. You get inside that character’s head, and it’s fascinating. As long as they continue to learn from each other in storytelling, some really awesome stuff will come out."
This doesn’t just apply to games, it seems. Russo is also working on Death Note 2 for Netflix. We were curious about that, since the first Netlix live-action adaptation of Death Note was panned by many fans as a bad disservice to one of the most beloved anime series of all time. Russo is clearly someone who cares about doing his source material justice, so we asked what he was going to do with Death Note 2.
It became clear over the course of our conversation that the urge to write films that serve the interests of fans is a consistent theme for Russo. Especially in the case of video games and anime, both of which have struggled with live action adaptations, Russo has a particular interest in giving fans what they want as a way to make up for the injustices of bad adaptations past.
Mortal Kombat released in theatres and on HBO Max on April 23rd, 2021.
MORE: Mortal Kombat Movie Writer Explains New Protagonist, What He Kept from the Games
