The Mortal Kombat movie has until now been quite a secretive project as Warner Bros. has only previously talked about its R-rating, cast, and how it will premiere on HBO Max on April 16. WB finally revealed pictures from the film itself, showing a faithful look at its renditions of Sonya, Liu Kang, Kano, Sub-Zero, Kung Lao, and more. And while relatively well received for the most part, the Jax picture began trending as people are drawing comparisons to game show host Steve Harvey.
The above picture is of Mehcad Brooks’ Jax, complete with his metallic arms. It’s a dark picture where Brooks’ face is scrunched as he is testing his might, but it is quite clear that he is bald and has a mustache. Both of which are two of Harvey’s defining traits, which can be easily seen in any of his pictures, like the one at the top from his Twitter profile. Jax has not sported just a mustache since the original trilogy and only a light ‘stache made an appearance in Mortal Kombat 9, which made sense since it was a retelling of those first three games. Harvey has mostly had his iconic facial hair since at least the early 1990s when he first began his television career.
You couldn't tell me that Jax Briggs here doesn't look like Steve Harvey with a straight face
Also I didn't knew there was Mortal Kombat movie coming this year pic.twitter.com/B9uNrRCfa5
— Souljen (@SouljenX7) January 15, 2021
https://twitter.com/BruskPoet/status/1350140025619378176
The passing resemblance has not stopped people on Twitter from making jokes about the two, often drawing either one of Jax’s catchphrases, poking fun at Harvey’s game show host career, or using Photoshop to make the comparison even more clear. Neither Brooks nor Harvey has tweeted or publicly responded to these numerous lighthearted jabs.
These new pictures have also come alongside some story-related information from Entertainment Weekly (which contains some light spoilers). Jax’s role in particular seems to be tertiary at most as he seems to be there to guide the protagonist, newcomer Cole Young, to Sonya Blade so she can send him on his journey. And despite the similarities, it’s likely that Jax won’t spend the other parts of the movie hosting a game show and making shocked faces when a suburban mother from Boise gives a suggestive answer.
