Yes, spoilers. They’re here. They’re aplenty. They’re detailed: character fates, contexts in key scenes and sequences—you know the drill by now. Read at your own peril!
Hey look, Karl Urban is now Johnny Cage! The Lord of the Rings and The Boys alumni is one but many of the new actors cast in a new Mortal Kombat movie—2021’s direct sequel, no less—and…that’s pretty much everything we know about it.
Well, not “everything”: we have a handful of confirmed actors and characters, but as the storyline goes, we can only guess. And boy did we guess stuff: since Warner is still playing dumb with the movie’s plot, we decided to come up with our own take a few swings on what might happen in this video game-based flick.
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So here’s everything you need to know (and what we think the story might be) about the new Mortal Kombat project on the big screen.
Confirmed information
So far, we got the trailer above and some tidbits of info that, well, are pretty solid as cinema-related projects go: the new Mortal Kombat movie will come out on October 23rd in Brazil, and the following day in the United States.
As was the case with the original 2021 flick, Simon McQuoid returns to the director’s chair, with Jeremy Slater (known for Moon Knight, The Umbrella Academy) as the main writer. The cast already has a decent volume of confirmation too, among new and returning actors:
Returning characters
- Lewis Tan as Cole Young
- Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade
- Mehcad Brooks as Jax
- Ludi Lin as Liu Kang
- Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden
- Chin Han as Shang Tsung
- Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion
- Joe Taslim as Bi-Han / Sub Zero/ Noob Saibot (?)
- Josh Lawson as Kano
- Max Huang as Kung Lao
Confirmed newcomers
- Karl Urban as Johnny Cage
- Adeline Rudolph as Kitana
- Tati Gabrielle as Jade
- Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn
- Damon Herriman as Quan Chi
- Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel
- Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod
- CJ Bloomfield as Baraka
Note that we mentioned some characters who, if you watched it, died in the previous movie. There is a reason for that, so read on to find out.
As for the plot, well, the official synopsis has not been revealed by Warner so far. It did tell the media, however, that the new Mortal Kombat movie is a direct sequel to its predecessor, and it will feature the eponymous to-the-death tournament that gives the franchise its name. The stakes are pretty much the same as, well, anything Mortal Kombat: Earthrealm is on the brink of being conquered by Outworld’s emperor Shao Khan. The old “10 times defeated before being absorbed” also comes into play here and, guess what? Like my beautiful Corinthians soccer team in this year’s season, we’ve been losing some—nine, to be precise.
So yeah, this is the last thread we’re holding on to and good God, things look grim. According to Warner, there will even be a “tangible scoreboard” to give us a visual representation of how f**ked are we on who’s winning. No pressure, eh?
Now, we also know that this Mortal Kombat movie might go places: Warner has stated in the past that, this time around, we’ll get a balance between character development arcs and over-the-top violence, and we might get a few glimpses or full-on visits from/to other realms, like Edenia, for instance.
Theories and speculation
Now we’re getting to the meaty bits: given that Kano and Kung Lao are both returning—they were oh-so-verily killed in the previous movie—and the presence of Quan Chi, we’re led to believe that some kind of resurrection mechanic will come to play.
Quan Chi, as most MK games will tell you, is a master necromancer, so it’s stands to reason that he may have something to do with these (if not other as well) returning names. The thing is: will they come back as they were?
Another returning character—one also revived by Quan Chi, no less—is Bi Han, the original Sub Zero. Canonically, Bi Han’s death at the hands of Scorpion is not the end of his story: in one of many, many video game theories that turned out to be true, Han’s corrupted soul descended to the fifth plane of Netherrealm (think of it as Mortal Kombat’s Hell), where he was eventually further corrupted and resurrected by Quan Chi, now adopting the name “Noob Saibot”.
Now, no one has “confirmed Noob Saibot” as a character in this new Mortal Kombat movie, only that Bi Han is back, but no circumstances about his return were given so, again, we’re free to speculate (just check out the damn poster in the gallery at the end of this article: it SCREAMS “shadow ninja”!).
Also, that in and on itself might give a smaller “arc-within-an-arc” opportunity: even as a wraith, Bi-Han’s hatred towards Scorpion did not die down in the game’s canon—and since their fight was one of the highlights of the previous movie (see below), there’s no reason to believe that Warner would let that chance pass.
There are also rumors about standalone filmes starring Johnny Cage and Noob Saibot, but that’s neither here nor there, so we’ll just leave it at that for now…
Another character that has seen a lot of attention from the movie’s promotion is Johnny Cage: played by Karl Urban, most current assets focus on him and his “washed up action star” status. Given that the previous movie focused on “one’s awakening true power through the Arcana” (kind of a dragon-like mark that’s bestowed on an Earthrealm’s champion), it is possible that this particular state of the character will serve as a plot point for his fully embracing the power within—kind of an “you had to get to your lowest point in order to rise above” thing.
Phew, that’s a ton of stuff. Still with us? Good, because there’s more: let’s talk Martyn Ford, shall we? As it makes perfect sense to give Shao Khan’s role to a bodybuilder-turned-actor, the British thespian already has some good stuff on his acting resume: Boyka: Undisputed (2016), Final Score (2018), Fast 9 (2021)—dude’s seeing progress.
As for his Shao Khan representation, we think this Mortal Kombat movie won’t give him too much screentime, as he’ll probably be more of a “looming, threatening presence” of sorts, having Chin Han’s Shang Tsung doing most of his bidding.
They’ve done it before: Mortal Kombat’s very first movie (1995) had the character appearing just at the cusp of the ending, seconds before credits rolled. Also, in 1998-1999’s Mortal Kombat: Conquest TV show, they played the same card to some success (or whatever “success” comes from a show axed after one single, syndicated season, anyway).
Furthermore, if Ford plays his acting right and this Mortal Kombat movie does well, this might set him up to be the main baddie in an eventual third flick? I mean, the trailer does show him duking it out with King Jerrod, Kitana’s biological father, so maybe that’s how he nabbed the princess and this gets somewhat explored within the concept of the movie?
And speaking of her, Kitana: if you know the games, you know her story’s a bit messy, often seeing her turn against Shao Kahn, who’s not exactly her real dad; but with her actual parents, King Jerrod and Queen Sindel, popping up, we have some room to think that we may dive deep into her backstory. And with Jade, her canonically not-so-loyal bodyguard, by her side, we’ll probably see that shift in allegiance play out, maybe with Jade influencing her or getting dragged along. She might start off as just another Outworld enforcer, but don’t be surprised if and when her true colors and loyalties come shining through.
And finally, our favorite foul-mouthed Aussie, Kano, is also back from the dead. Not that he was the epitome of sanity before—he was the leader of the mercenary Black Dragon Clan, after all—but if things are kept faithful to the games, being resurrected should do a number on his head, making him even more unhinged. He’ll be, essentially, Kano as we’ve all come to know him. With Quan Chi and Shang Tsung in the picture, it stands to reason he’ll lean onto them in order to cause even more chaos, especially as Sonya and Jax are concerned.
How it will be connected to the games
Alright, so how does this movie will stack up against the games? Pretty darn well, actually, if our predictions hold water.
First off, the whole flick is gunning to be faithful to the brutal, bone-crunching spirit of the Mortal Kombat video game series. By bringing not only the franchise’s most recognizable characters, but also digging deep into their individual backstories to create an overarching plot, it stands to reason that this new Mortal Kombat movie might do justice to creators Ed Boon and John Tobias’ legacies.
And if the past is to be believed, we’re definitely getting that R rating, so be sure to expect gruesome, signature fatalities and eye-watering action we’ve come to expect from the games. Even the focus on the actual Mortal Kombat tournament brings back some good memories, and we all know how nostalgia is kind of a big thing for gamers and movie-goers.
Color us excited: we’ll keep waiting for further news on this one. For now, though, check out the gallery below for the confirmed characters posters.
