Mortal Kombat: Legacy

The show's premise originated from Kevin Tancharoen's short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth (2010), which he made hoping to convince a studio to greenlight a re-imagined Mortal Kombat feature film.

Tancharoen wrote and directed Mortal Kombat: Rebirth over a single weekend with a budget of only $7,500, completing it in two months with help from friends and colleagues.

Tancharoen accidentally made Rebirth public on YouTube while intending only to privately share it with a colleague for feedback, and it received an overwhelmingly positive response.

Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema declined to back a full Rebirth-style feature film, but Warner Bros. agreed instead to fund a web series, which became Mortal Kombat: Legacy.

Ed Boon, co-creator of the Mortal Kombat franchise, was impressed by Rebirth but initially unsure about Tancharoen's re-imagined vision, remarking that it 'probably crosses the line'; he became convinced after meeting Tancharoen in person.

Season 1 was filmed in Vancouver over February and March, with Tancharoen tweeting daily updates on the production's progress.

Season 2 was filmed in Los Angeles with a crew of approximately 90-100 people, and Bandito Brothers replaced Goldtooth Creative Agency to handle the visual effects.

Ed Boon, the franchise's co-creator, made a cameo appearance in Episode 3 as Ed Goodman, a TV producer who had previously worked with Johnny Cage.

Season 2 saw a major cast overhaul, including Casper Van Dien replacing Matt Mullins as Johnny Cage and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who had played Shang Tsung in the 1995 film, taking over the role from Johnson Phan.

A TV spot for Season 2 aired during AMC's Talking Dead on March 31, 2013, marking the first time a YouTube channel had purchased advertising space on television.

After episode 2's release, it was pulled down and replaced with a censored version after YouTube received an overwhelming number of flags for violent content; an agreement was later reached to release censored versions immediately with uncensored versions following days later requiring age confirmation.