First episode of 'Mortal Kombat' web series gets nearly 6 million views: viral video spotlight

(2011 YouTube, LLC)

The first episode of the new live action series Mortal Kombat: Legacy based on the popular video game has attracted nearly six million views since being uploaded on April 11.

Titled " Mortal Kombat:Legacy - Ep.1 (Brand new live action MK series)," the video, which premiered on April 11, is the first part of a web series conceived by Kevin Tancharoen.

According to reports, the video series came into being after Kevin Tancharoen approached Warner Bros., which holds the copyright to Mortal Kombat, requesting permission to make a re-imagined Mortal Kombat film.

While the director was in negotiations with the film company, a short video designed for Tancharoen's pitch became popular on YouTube, which, it has been suggested, led to Warner Bros. granting Tancharoen permission to make a nine-part web series.

Uploaded on April 11, the video had attracted 5,368,621 views as of April 18 at 4pm GMT from countries around the world including South America, South Africa, Northern Asia and Australia. The video is also the most watched on YouTube over the past week.

The success of the series could lead film developers to change the way they view YouTube, possibly leading to other web series being made especially for the video-sharing site and solving the site's much publicized copyright issues.

The video of Mortal Kombat: Legacy is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s6UiEuCYXA