Sixteen years after the first "Mortal Kombat" movie, New Line is reviving the franchise by tapping the talent of the director of Web-based "Mortal Kombat: Rebirth."

The first movie was well received in 1995, but after 1997's "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" there were no sequels. Many fans panned the second movie for having a weak plot due to cramming as many characters as possible and for changing most of the cast.

New Line Cinema is part of Warner Bros., which acquired Midway owner of the "Mortal Kombat" properties, in 2009. With a dismal reception for the "DC vs. Mortal Kombat" game, Warner aims to strengthen the franchise more by producing a movie with New Line Cinema and director of "Rebirth," Kevin Tancharoen.

"Mortal Kombat: Rebirth" is a gritty and realistic look on the game, which went viral. That prompted Warner Brothers to tap Tancharoen to produce "Mortal Kombat: Legacy," a nine-part movie designed to generate buzz for the game again. The nine-part movie had a budget of $2 million.

The new film will be directly connected to "Rebirth" and is targeted for a 2013 release by New Line in time with the next Mortal Kombat game. If there was anything good that has resulted from Warner Brothers' acquisition of Midway this would be it. They now control every aspect of the movie, including the promotion and merchandising.

The game received a reboot too in Mortal Kombat 9 with the series' Raiden having a vision of the future altering the whole history of the game.

The film franchise has been held up in litigation between Warner Brothers and the previous producer, Lawrence Kasanoff, over royalties and ownership of the movie rights.