WIRE Buzz: James Wan's Mortal Kombat; Tricia Helfer to Van Helsing; TWD VR

Monster hunting, zombie hunting, and good old-fashioned fatalities are the subjects of our latest WIRE Buzz, allowing plenty of genre violence to cleanse the early week’s palate.

First up, mere weeks after Mortal Kombat released its 11th entry in the main game franchise, the coming film reboot made it very clear that it’s actually happening. And it’s happening Down Under.

ABC Australia explains that the James Wan-produced Warner Bros. reboot will be filming in South Australia from September to December of this year, and will be the biggest film ever to be made in the state.

Premier Steven Marshall made the announcement, which fans can see below:

With an alleged 1,500 extras being recruited for the film, it sounds like a massive undertaking with plenty of large-scale battles (possibly in a tournament setting). Directed by Simon McQuoid from Greg Russo’s script, the film hopes to go back to the ‘90s game’s bloody and lore-filled roots.

"On the surface, the game works a certain way, but we've kind of gone deeper than that," McQuoid said. "We've gone back to the absolute sort of source material, and we've taken that and we are turning that into an epic world."

Preproduction for the still star-less Mortal Kombat has already begun.

Next, Deadline reports that SYFY’s Van Helsing series has found its Dracula — and she’s ready to go face to face with Kelly Overton’s Vanessa Van Helsing as new showrunner Jonathan Walker takes over during Season 4.The lord of the vampires will be played by Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer, while Richard Harmon, Nicole Munoz, Keeya King, and WWE star Big Show are also joining the show in secret roles. The gig comes after Helfer most recently played the mom of the actual Devil on the now-Netflix show Lucifer. But even the world’s most evil mom can’t hold a candle to the Dark One.

“We are thrilled to welcome the talented Tricia Helfer to our Van Helsing family,” Executive Producer Chad Oakes said in a statement. “She will be a fierce and unstoppable DARK ONE (Dracula) … as the battle between good and evil reaches new heights.”

Van Helsing’s fourth season is currently in production.

Finally, according to a release, AMC is teaming up with VR company Survios to create the first official VR game for The Walking Dead: The Walking Dead Onslaught. Apps and games have long been adjacent to the zombie hit, but this looks to stand above its competitors and more AR-focused supplementary offerings.

The game offers an original story starring all the characters that fans know from the show and comic narrative, but in a VR setting. That means motion combat all throughout the new campaign mode, for which we have a bloody teaser.

Check it out:

Those are some familiar weapons to fans, with a crossbow, katana, and pistol looking mighty fine next to some walkers whose unlife has ended. And the violence even has a particular engine behind it, according to the gaming studio.

“Not only is The Walking Dead Onslaught a dream opportunity for the megafans in the studio, but we’ve had the unique challenge to further evolve VR with our ‘progressive dismemberment’ technology,” said Survios head Mike McTyre. Progressive dismemberment? Sign us up.

The Walking Dead Onslaught debuts later this fall.