Cole Young's Mortal Kombat 2 Death Explained By Writer

One of the most shocking moments in director Simon McQuoid's "Mortal Kombat 2" is the death of Cole Young (Lewis Tan), the new character created to serve as the protagonist of the 2021 "Mortal Kombat" movie. Not only is Cole largely sidelined in the sequel, but he dies in his very first fight when the freshly invincible main antagonist Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) defeats him and dumps him in a pool of acid. It's a pretty bad way for a former lead character to go, and one that highlights just how big of a threat Kahn is. 

Regardless of how you feel about the death of the "Mortal Kombat" main character, there was a method behind the mayhem. In an interview with GamesRadar+, "Mortal Kombat 2" screenwriter Jeremy Slater revealed that the decision had absolutely nothing to do with Tan's performance or professionalism. Instead, it was more about addressing fan complaints about Cole, so "Mortal Kombat 2" fixed the first movie's biggest mistake in style by removing the original character who hogged so much narrative real estate in "Mortal Kombat."  

"The idea was very much we need some deaths that are going to shock everybody," Slater said. "I love Lewis Tan. I think Lewis is the best, but Cole was a character that the hardcore fans did not respond to in the first movie, and they were very vocal about that, and very vocal about calling for his head."

Jeremy Slater is well aware that there's a distinct divide between the vocal hardline fandom and the people who don't really keep up with various online outrages about casting and storytelling decisions. By killing Cole, "Mortal Kombat II" was able to score a twofer that affected both ends of the fandom spectrum: The people who aggressively disliked Cole would finally see him removed from the franchise, and the viewers who were used to seeing him as the main character would get a sharp jolt to the system. 

"Cole was a great example of a character where killing him would shock the casual fans, the people who are not terminally online and just went to see the movie and enjoyed it," Slater explained in the GamesRadar+. interview. "It's going to be a really shocking moment for them, but the hardcore fans are expecting him to die."

Slater went on to explain that the other massive death in the movie — the apparent demise of regular franchise MVP Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) during the climactic fight against Shao Kahn – was crafted for a similar purpose. The difference is that this particular death was aimed at the hardcore fans as well, since Liu tends to be portrayed as the franchise's tournament-winning protagonist. 

"Mortal Kombat 2" sets up another sequel fairly blatantly, and its several character resurrections show that the series treats death as a minor inconvenience. Jeremy Slater has already confirmed to Variety that Liu Kang will be back for "Mortal Kombat 3." So could Cole Young potentially return, as well?

In all honesty, it doesn't seem likely. Cole was the sole character in the film series that was not part of the game canon. "Mortal Kombat 2" also largely forgets the major plot point of Arcana, which was a key aspect of Cole's character journey. As such, chances are he's gone for good. However, there is some suggestion that Lewis Tan might still return in some shape, form, or way. "The one thing I will say is death is never permanent in the 'Mortal Kombat' universe,"  Slater told Variety. "So just because I don't think you're ever going to see Cole Young again, but that doesn't mean you're not going to see Lewis Tan again in some regards."

Tan himself has dropped similar hints in an interview with Vulture. "I think Cole is done," he said. "If I were to come back in 'Mortal Kombat III,' it would be in a different way. We'll figure that out as it goes, but there have been a lot of fans asking for a casting for different characters, and there's a lot of behind-the-scenes talk about how we can make it work."