Interview: Patrick Seitz on Showing Another Side of Scorpion in Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms is set to arrive on digital and physical storefronts on August 31. The film is the direct sequel to 2020’s Scorpion’s Revenge. In it, Raiden and his band of Earthrealm fighters enter the titular tournament to save the realms from Shao Kahn, who showed up in the movie’s first trailer. Veteran voice actor Patrick Seitz reprises his portrayal of Scorpion in the film, a role that he previously had in the video game series as well.

ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms star Patrick Seitz about voicing returning to Scorpion, his impact on fighting games, and some of his anime roles.

Scorpion and Sub-Zero is the ultimate Mortal Kombat pairing and rivalry. What are your thoughts on this arc that we see in the film?

It’s super interesting that that Scorpion immediately goes from, “I’ve got to get vengeance” to “OK, I got my vengeance, but now I’m immediately on the other side of that equation and I’ve got Sub-Zero, albeit a different Sub-Zero, but still a Sub-Zero trying to enact their vengeance upon me for my actions in the first film.” And that’s the thing that is easy for me to forget with the downtime in real life between the two movies, but then watching, you’re like, “Oh, right, boom, boom, right at it, like they just had this first tournament and now we’re back in the thick of it with tournament number two” and Scorpion is deciding “What do I do with this thing that is now melded with me? Do I tell the world to go to Hell? Do I do the right thing? And how do I maneuver those waters while dealing with the fact that this new Sub-Zero wants to murder me and with good reason.” It’s a super interesting and flipping the situation on its head.

What has stuck out the most about Scorpion’s journey throughout these two films?

I think it feels like a weird word to use for Scorpion perhaps on the face of it, but in the second film, it is restraint, for lack of a better word, I mean, he’s fighting Sub-Zero a lot. Sub-Zero is giving the fight his all and trying to kill him and rightfully so, but Scorpion is not pulling his punches, but he’s fighting defensively. He’s not trying to kill Sub-Zero. He’s trying to appeal to a sense of reason. He’s trying to get through to him. Now, granted, he’s doing all that in these quick stolen moments of dialogue between them beating the hell out of each other, but he is still doing that when you could make the argument that the easiest thing to do would be like, “Oh, this dude is trying to kill me? Just murder the hell out of him and call it a day.”

Like if he’s not going to listen to reason, just rip him in half, burn him into ashes, and it’s one less problem to deal with. So the fact that Scorpion is engaging in these fights defensively and not at the same murderous pitch as Sub-Zero is such an interesting twist. It’s not apparent when watching it, because they’re just fighting and fighting. It’s super, super cool. They’re really into it. But then you think to yourself and you’re like, “But they’re not fighting at the same level.” Sub-Zero was fighting to kill. Scorpion is fighting to maintain or defend, which is a real interesting flavor coming from him.

What was your first Mortal Kombat game that you played and was Scorpion your main before you even voiced him?

I’m pretty sure the first game was my first one. I’m 43 so I’ve been around for a hot minute. I have thrown more than my fair share of quarters into those standup arcade machines back in the day. And then of course on consoles as well. I am not super good at fighting games. I get through them. I would gut my way through, but especially against actual people in arcades, I was usually getting owned pretty hard. But Scorpion is great. He’s badass. He’s got the chain. He’s got the thing where he appears in kicks from the other side. He’s got the fire. I’m not saying anyone’s attacks are a slouch in that game, but there’s something about Scorpion that just captures the imagination, especially as, whatever age kid I was looking at the super violent game going, “Yeah, that guy is badass.” To say that Scorpion was my main would make it sound like I am better at the game. I’m not good enough to have a main, but if I had a main, it would have been him.

You might not be the best fighting game player, but you’ve had such an impact on so many iconic fighting game series: Scorpion in MK, Cervantes in Soulcalibur, Bob in Tekken, Ragna the Bloodedge in Blazblue, and it goes on and on. How is it that you’ve been able to leave your stamp on so much of the genre?

It’s super cool. It’s such a trip for me too because in real life, I am not throwing down. I don’t think I could tell you the last time I was in a fight. I don’t know if I’ve ever actually been in like a reciprocal fight. I think grade school a couple of times, someone could have popped me one, but that’s because I was the large peaceful kid. I was like a brontosaurus, like, “Hey, look at that big, slow-moving, herbivore target.” So getting to play all these characters and really swing for the fence, as far as the exerts and the motivation in fighting games, is great. Fighting games are like a soap opera. That is fun to engage in as an actor. And it’s fun to play, too.

Again, I’m not great at them, but I always have fun with the final product and getting sometimes to go to conventions and play the games that I’m in as the character against other people. That’s super fun because it’s either like, “Hey, I played Mortal Kombat with the voice of Scorpion and totally kicked his ass” or “I played Mortal Kombat with the voice of Scorpion and he totally kicked my ass,” which admittedly is rarer, but still kind of novel and fun in its own way. It’s a hoot all around. I’m so grateful.

You were blindsided by Scorpion getting a recast in Mortal Kombat 11. You came back on board for these two films. Was there ever any hesitancy? Or did you view this as an opportunity for some potential closure for this role rather than ending it on maybe a sour note?

No hesitancy. I didn’t look at it as closure. I think, if anything, these films really accentuate the point that you never know when the thing going to be done. You don’t anyway because you don’t know from time to time when they’re going to want you, or when they’re going to want someone else. But it was such a joy to get contacted for the movies. I look at all of this as a bonus. I look at all of this as gravy, which is honestly how you should look at every gig anyway, because nothing is guaranteed. It’s been so much fun getting to spend more time in Scorpion’s shoes. I’m always grateful. I will not ever not pick up that phone. I will always answer the Scorpion phone, so to speak.

My Hero Academia is starting this awesome villain arc. So I wanted to ask you about Endeavor as we’ve seen him go through a lot of changes in the anime. He’s a hero that’s made so many mistakes, but he’s genuinely trying to change for the better. What is your perspective on just where he’s currently at? It seems like a pivotal phase for him.

He’s trying. He’s legitimately trying. For some of the members of his family, that’s going to be enough. For some of the members of his family, that’s not going to be enough. It’s the same thing with the fandom. Some folks are going to be like, “Give him a shot to redeem himself.” Other people are going to be like, “He’s a bastard and I’m done with him.” And I get that. Like that is a legitimate response both in the world and in our world to the character and to his actions. It’s a fun thing to portray.

I’m a sucker, personally, for redemption arcs. But there is no rule saying that everyone else has to be on board. That’s part of what makes him so fun because that’s how life is. Sometimes you forgive people. Sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you can’t. Sometimes you can’t not. I love Endeavor. He’s a dude who’s really good at his job and really bad at life and interpersonal relationships. I think that that chasm between number one hero and definitely not number one dad is part of what makes him interesting, at least for me to portray.

We see a lot of shades of gray with Scorpion, as well. What’s your favorite Scorpion Fatality?

Oh, man. I’m old school. I like the hood coming off. I like the skull. I like the flame. It’s showy. It’s classic. It’s not too filled with viscera, which is good cause I get a little squeamish, but it is still murderous and still brutal. So for my money, the hood off flaming skull head and burning him to a crisp is the old standby.

What are your thoughts on playing Jiren in Dragon Ball Super? Jiren just has so much depth and is such a fun character. How was getting to a part of Dragon Ball?

That was so cool because I know so many of the people in that cast in that franchise, but getting the call to finally go and play with them and was super fun, but there’s also that pressure of like, “Oh man, a lot of the folks doing this are the old guard. Can I hang with Dragon Ball-level yelling and screaming? As you know, it gets there. But thankfully, I was able to hang.

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