Mortal Kombatfans have been waiting to learn which other characters (besides those already revealed) would be appearing in the upcoming movie reboot, and today, screenwriter Greg Russo confirmed another. Not only is the vampire Nitara confirmed for theMortal Kombatmovie, but she’ll also be played by Elissa Cadwell.
For those who need a refresher, since Nitara plays a relatively minor role in the series, the character was first introduced inMortal Kombat:Deadly Alliance; she’s a vampire who needs blood to maintain her existence—unlike evil vampiric counterpart Shang Tsung, who devours souls. Nitara is only the latest of multiple recent teases from Russo, who hasconfirmed a number of other charactersin the lineup forMortal Kombat.
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Nitara’s initial “reveal” was actually an accident, when actor Ludi Lin (who is playing Liu Kang in the reboot) posted the back of a trailer on Instagram with both Nitara and Mileena’s names on it. Mileena’s presence had already been confirmed forMortal Kombat, but fans immediately caught on to the other name and peppered the filmmakers for more information, which led to Russo’s Twitter reveal. Furthermore, fans got to learn a little more about who would be playing Nitara: Elissa Cadwell is an Australian stuntwoman and actress who has also appeared inAquaman (2018)—which fits sinceMortal Kombatis filming in Australia as well. Other notable characters already confirmed for the movie are Jax, Kano, Liu Kang, Scorpion, Raiden, Shang Tsun, Sub-Zero, Sonya Blade, and Mileena; in another tweet, Russo also revealed that themovie had “big plans” for Johnny Cage, another major character.
Nothing gets by you guys. She’ll be played by Elissa Cadwell.@ediestar84#sharpenyourfangshttps://t.co/V5y7L1LI1G
— Greg Russo (@WriterRusso)June 03, 2025
Plot-wise, Nitara’s role inMortal Kombatis still an unknown; she’s always been less-conspicuous than the more popular and iconic characters in the franchise, so she might not have that big a part. As a character, Nitara has traditionally been a more neutral character: she operates for herself, feeding on the blood of her enemies, but isn’t evil the wayotherMortal Kombatvillains are—whether her film iteration leans more towards one end of the moral spectrum over the other remains to be seen.
In fact, most of the movie’s plot details are under wraps for now, thoughproduction has officially begunin southern Australia. With a diverse cast and produced by James Wan (the man behindAquaman,The Conjuringmovies and more),Mortal Kombat’s makers are hopeful that the movie takes video game-turned-film reboots in a positive direction.
