Mortal Kombat 2 Cast, Director, Writer, Producer And More Details
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Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, "Mortal Kombat" hit arcades in 1992, launching an entire franchise of epic fatalities. All these years later, the video game series is still going strong, and it's inspired several of cinematic adaptations. While the 1995 movie is still near and dear to many gamers, the 2021 reboot from Warner Bros. is beloved by a whole new generation of fans.
Released during the darker days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent "Mortal Kombat" pulled in solid numbers at the box office despite real-world events, earning $84 million even as it was simultaneously streaming on HBO Max. The movie was even more successful online, becoming one of the site's most-watched movies. Needless to say, Warner Bros. saw the potential of a sequel and immediately screamed, "Get over here!"
Now, "Mortal Kombat 2" is on the way, ready to rip out spines and rake in the box office dollars. But when exactly will we see the big showdown between our world and Outworld? And which kickass characters will be returning from the first film? Well, better get ready for some blood-and-guts action because here's everything you need to know about "Mortal Kombat 2."
When will Mortal Kombat 2 be released?
At the moment, we aren't exactly sure when "Mortal Kombat" will punch its way into theaters. But rest assured, it will deliver a fatality in the near future. The movie began shooting in June 2023, with the production taking place in Gold Coast, Queensland. Of course, filming shut down a month later due to the actors' strike.
However, the actors and the studios finally reached an agreement in early November 2023, and "Mortal Kombat 2" resumed filming that very month. Now, shooting is finally finished, with new star Karl Urban taking to Instagram in January 2024 and saying, "That's a picture wrap for me & Johnny Cage on Mortal Kombat 2! Massive thanks to our incredible crew, cast, and phenomenal stunt team. Hands down the most action-packed fun I've ever had on a film! Can't wait for y'all to see it. Special thanks to everyone off-set who helped make this time here on the Gold Coast Australia such a pleasure."
Producer Todd Garner also confirmed on X (formerly known as Twitter) that filming was done. Evidently, there's still quite a bit of work to do in post-production, but chances are good we'll be seeing "Mortal Kombat 2" later in 2024.
What is the plot of Mortal Kombat 2?
2021's "Mortal Kombat" made the unusual choice of not featuring the duel-to-the-death tournament called — checks notes — Mortal Kombat. Instead, the film focused on Shang Tsung and his Outworld goons trying to decimate the rival Kombatants before the official start of the competition. Clearly, this odd decision didn't affect the film's popularity, but we are hoping to get a proper tournament this time around.
We also know the movie will involve hero Cole Young recruiting new champions to defend Earth. The first film ended with Cole heading off to Hollywood, wanting to bring actor Johnny Cage to his side. One of the series' most popular characters, Cage is an action star who enters the tournament for selfish purposes — to prove his martial arts bona fides. Of course, he eventually joins the heroes in defense of Earthrealm, and we're expecting to see a similar arc here.
Other than that, we're not exactly sure what "Mortal Kombat 2" has in store when it comes to the plot. However, we do know the movie will feature quite a few returning actors and more than a few beloved characters...
Who is starring in Mortal Kombat 2?
If you loved the characters in the first "Mortal Kombat" movie, don't worry — pretty much all of them are coming back for part two.
Lewis Tan is returning as the dragon-marked MMA fighter Cole Young, and Jessica McNamee will star as special ops veteran Sonya Blade, along with Mehcad Brooks as her partner, the cyborg Jax. You can also expect to see Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, and Chin Han as the villainous Shang Tsung. Heck, even characters who died in the first film are coming back, with Josh Lawson reprising the role of Kano, Max Huang appearing as Kung Lao, Joe Taslim playing Sub-Zero, and the legendary Hiroyuki Sanada returning from the grave yet again as Scorpion.
As for the newcomers, the film boasts a wide array of talented names. Karl Urban — Billy Butcher in "The Boys" — will play Hollywood hotshot Johnny Cage. Tati Gabrielle and Adeline Rudolph, both of "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" fame, will play the assassin Jade and the fan-wielding Kitana, respectively. Bodybuilder Martyn Ford ("F9") will portray the hulking Shao Kahn, Damon Herriman ("Once Upon a Time in Hollywood") will play the demonic Quan Chi, Ana Thu Nguyen ("The Spy Who Never Dies") will appear as Queen Sindel, and Desmond Chiam of "Joy Ride" will play King Jerrod.
Who is directing Mortal Kombat 2?
With a big adaptation of a beloved IP like "Mortal Kombat," you'd assume that Warner Bros. would get a tried-and-true filmmaker with a knack for big-screen action. However, when it came time to shoot the 2021 martial arts movie, the studio actually went the opposite direction by hiring Australian director Simon McQuoid, who'd never made a full-length movie before.
Previous to helming the first "Kombat" film, McQuoid was a commercial director, most famous for a 2011 PlayStation advertisement and a 2016 Duracell/"Star Wars" mashup. His work on the latter caught the attention of the "Mortal Kombat' team, but the filmmaker wasn't keen on having his first feature-length film be a video game adaptation. However, according to an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, once he read the script, he was actually quite excited about all its cinematic possibilities. Obviously, that panned out pretty well for McQuoid, and now he's back for "Mortal Kombat 2," gearing up to bring us plenty of new fatalities and blood-drenched action scenes.
Who is writing Mortal Kombat 2?
While 2021's "Mortal Kombat" was co-written by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham, the sequel scripting duties have fallen to Jeremy Slater. He's a star on the rise in screenwriting circles, having already penned some of the most celebrated genre fare of the past several years.
Sure, he did co-write that awful "Fantastic Four" movie with Josh Trank and the less-than-beloved "Death Note" remake, but we can forgive those missteps because he was the creator of the MCU's "Moon Knight," developed the actually incredibly "Exorcist" TV show for Fox, and worked on "The Umbrella Academy," even penning the series' pilot episode. He's also co-written the upcoming "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" and will be directing Mandy Moore and Kumail Nanjiani in the "Insidious" spinoff movie "Thread."
Speaking to Discussing Film about the new action movie, Slater assured "Mortal Kombat" fans that they don't need to worry about the sequel. "We want to make something that the fans really love, and I think it's a really great creative team," Slater said. "They have been listening to the fan reactions, and they know what fans loved about the first movie and what they didn't. Everyone is creatively setting out to really make a sequel that tops the original in every way. We're still very early in the process, but the fans should be really excited. It's going to be awesome."
Who is producing Mortal Kombat 2?
There are quite a few producing powerhouses behind "Mortal Kombat 2," including director Simon McQuoid, Todd Garner, E. Bennett Walsh, and Michael Clear. All four served as producers on the first film, so they know what makes the property so special.
Of course, the biggest producer of the bunch is the returning James Wan of Atomic Monster. For action and horror fans, Wan needs no introduction. He's the filmmaker behind beloved films like "Saw," "The Conjuring," "Insidious," "Aquaman," and "Furious 7." He also has quite a few hits under his producing belt, such as "M3GAN" and "The Nun." With this dream team working behind the cameras, we're pretty confident that "Mortal Kombat 2" will be even bigger, badder, bloodier, and better than the first one.
Where to watch the previous Mortal Kombat movies
Before "Mortal Kombat 2" hits theaters, you might want to go back and revisit all the action from the first film. The original installment in the rebooted series, "Mortal Kombat" finds Cole Young thrust into a world of supernatural warriors, where heroic martial artists must defend Earthrealm from the monstrous inhabitants of Outworld. It all culminates with an epic showdown between actors Joe Taslim, Lewis Tan, and Hiroyuki Sanada — a fight that's worth the rental price alone. Of course, you don't have to rent the film if you're subscribed to Max. If you're not, you can rent the movie on Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, and Vudu.
If you're still wanting to fill the dragon-shaped hole in your heart, you can travel back in time and watch the very first "Mortal Kombat" movie ever made. Released in 1995, the movie gave us one of the coolest theme songs of all time with the synth masterpiece "Techno Syndrome," and the action flick has become something of a cult classic over the years. You can rent 1995's "Mortal Kombat" on Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, and Vudu.
Then there's the follow-up film, 1997's "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation," which is widely considered one of the worst things in the entire "Mortal Kombat" franchise, but if you're a diehard fan, you might want to see what the fuss is all about. You can rent it on Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, and Vudu.