Warner Bros’ reboot of Mortal Kombat is officially getting a live-action sequel – alongside a potential whole franchise. There’s certainly potential in the lore and story of the Mortal Kombat video games to expand towards multiple sequels — not to mention spin-offs — with the potential franchise certainly not lacking in the source material department. Fans have been fascinated by the tournament and its locations since the first game. Already, there’s a strong set-up for more in the movie universe, and Mortal Kombat’s (2021) sequel is set to bring in at least one missing figure who was controversially excluded from the reboot. Indeed, as the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie’s ending reveals, fan-favorite character Johnny Cage will appear in the Mortal Kombat 2 movie.
Mortal Kombat is the third live-action movie in the beloved franchise, fixing many of the issues of the original — which is nonetheless a cult classic – and the more problematic sequel, Annihilation, from 1997. The 2021 movie delivers on the promised R-rating, sticking to a mostly faithful adaptation model that brings iconic characters to life as well as expanding to the lore with the introduction of new mysterious character Cole Young (Lewis Tan), whose identity inspired lots of speculation ahead of the movie’s release. Fans haven’t had too many updates about Mortal Kombat 2 yet, but they can rest assured that a movie is on the way.
The Latest Mortal Kombat 2 News
Since Mortal Kombat released in 2021, there hasn’t been much in the way of sequel news. The latest updates , however, will be exciting for fans as it means it’s only a matter of time before Mortal Kombat 2 hits theaters.
Producer Todd Garner confirmed that he’s headed to Australia to begin preparations for filming. Filming for Mortal Kombat 2 will begin in June, and if it follows the same timetable as the first movie, could be completed in September or October. Of course, the movie will then head into post-production and have plenty of VFX work to get through, so it will still be a little while before fans get to see it.
Is Mortal Kombat 2 Happening?
As first reported by Deadline, Mortal Kombat 2 is officially happening as of January 2022. New Line and Warner Bros. are confirmed to be taking the necessary steps to continue the franchise, with their first action being the hiring of The Umbrella Academy‘s Jeremy Slater to pen the Mortal Kombat 2 script. Mortal Kombat 2021 director Simon McQuoid is set to direct again as well.
Mortal Kombat 2 Story Details
The end of Mortal Kombat sets up further invasions by Shang Tsung (Chin Han) as he seeks to use his Outworld allies to prevent a fair Mortal Kombat tournament from happening and his own inevitable defeat. With that in mind, Cole Young and his fellow surviving Earthrealm champions are sent to round up more champions, beginning with series favorite Johnny Cage, who Young tracks to Hollywood. Shang Tsung, meanwhile, will no doubt retire to his own realm to lick his wounds and bolster his own team, looking to revive his most feared warrior, Sub-Zero.
It is confirmed that an actual Mortal Kombat tournament will be shown in a Mortal Kombat 2 movie, surely pleasing lots of fans who were left bemused by its absence in the first movie. It’s also rumored that Joe Taslim, who starred as Sub-Zero in the first movie, is set to return as Noob Saibot, the shadow that the character turns into when being killed by Scorpion in the game lore.
While what will happen in the sequel is largely still speculation by fans, those same fans will be encouraged by one behind-the-scenes Mortal Kombat 2 update. Ed Boon, co-creator of the Mortal Kombat series of games, is heavily involved in the project and the story being told. Boon has a creative hand in both the animated series and the live-action sequel, helping to determine which characters will be involved. He previously told Polygon that when he was involved in media inspired by the video games before that it wasn’t, “in an official capacity.” With Boon knowing the games inside and out, his contributions to the story will sure to please long-time fans.
Mortal Kombat 2 Cast
Though Mortal Kombat kills off several main characters, Lewis Tan’s Cole Young will return for the sequel alongside Jessica McNamee’s Sonya Blade, Mehcad Brooks’ Jax, Tadanobu Asano’s Raiden, Ludi Lin’s Liu Kang, and possibly Hiroyuki Sanada’s Scorpion. And then there’s Chin Han’s Shang Tsung, who will presumably still be the main villain.
Meanwhile, WWE star The Miz wants to be the actor to play Johnny Cage in the Mortal Kombat 2 cast. Ryan Reynolds was also briefly rumored to be in the running to play Cage, only to hilariously turn the rumors into an ad for his Mint Mobile cell phone company. Either way, it’s confirmed that the Hollywood bad boy will indeed be a featured character in the sequel, though who will really play the character is being kept quiet.
In 2022, actress Sisi Stringer gave fans hope that her character would return for the sequel as well. The Vampire Academy actress played Mileena, who in the mythology of the games, is actually a clone. She encouraged fans to hope for Mileena’s return in Mortal Kombat 2 since she would like to play the character again, and dead characters return in new realms all the time in the games. Her involvement in the movie, however, hasn’t been officially announced.
Mortal Kombat 2 Release Date Info
Mortal Kombat took decades to get to the screen and was then delayed by Hollywood’s shutdown in 2020. It’s unlikely a sequel would take as long to get to the screen. If the production of the original is anything to go by, a reasonable turnover of a couple of years wouldn’t be unexpected, even allowing for a lengthier post-production period than McQuoid’s initial four-month filming schedule. So 2024 wouldn’t be out of the question. Reports now suggest that multiple Mortal Kombat follow-up movies are in development, including sequels and spinoffs to sit alongside the confirmed Mortal Kombat 2. That’s primarily due to the movie’s HBO Max launch being one of the biggest in the service’s history, meaning it’s likely Warner Bros. will make Mortal Kombat 2‘s production a top priority.
Mortal Kombat 2 Trailer
Fans will not be able to expect even a teaser trailer for Mortal Kombat 2 until filming is at least underway. They can likely see Mortal Kombat 2 updates once filming in Australia is complete. Trailers typically release about three months before a movie’s theatrical release, so a full trailer won’t hit fans’ screens until 2024.
Mortal Kombat 2 Is Learning Its Lessons From The First Movie
The Mortal Kombat 2 movie is the next step in establishing long-term prospects for Warner Bros.’ live-action reboot, and updates regarding the sequel suggest that the lessons from the first movie won’t be ignored. Although Mortal Kombat 2 writer Jeremy Slater won’t say anything about the actual story, he explains that they see the sequel “as a chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.” Indeed, Mortal Kombat 2 focusing on Johnny Cage was an unprecedented move, as the character is typically on the sidelines, and it will be interesting to see how his role develops moving forward. Furthermore, as the sequel will feature an actual Mortal Kombat tournament, it looks like Warner Bros. will finally be giving long-time fans of the franchise what they want.
