The 2021 Mortal Kombat remake was basically a prequel. It followed the evil head of the Outworld, Shang Tsung, who was trying to kill all of Earth’s fighters so they would be unable to compete in the titular tournament. He, of course, failed—and now in Mortal Kombat 2, out October 24, the tournament is on. Not only that, it’s also the driving narrative of the whole movie.
“They keep score throughout the movie,” Ed Boon, co-creator of Mortal Kombat, told Entertainment Weekly. “There’s a visual representation of who is winning… It’s not just a tournament for the sake of a tournament. There are huge consequences, so you really are keeping score. And there are a lot of twists in it that keep you on your toes.”
The wild character list is sure to also keep audiences on their toes. All the big characters from the first film are coming back, as well as a few who died. There’s Cole Young (Lewis Tan), Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), as well as Kano (Josh Lawson) and Kung Lao (Max Huang), who were both killed. They’re back, but we don’t know how just yet.
They’ll then be joined by Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), who appearances were secret until today, as well as Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), who is apparently the key figure for the audience this time around. “[Johnny Cage’s] integration into the Mortal Kombat story and universe is a big part of what this movie explores,” Boon said. “He’s a washed-up Hollywood guy thrown into this magical, ultra-violent thing. Karl, his depiction of Johnny Cage is different than our games in some ways. He’s adding his own flare to it, but I think it’ll feel fresh. There’s like a novelty factor in there.”
We have to imagine several of those are going to be the victims of brutal fatalities though as the field for the tournament keeps getting dwindled down and a champion is crowned. And that’s key too because if Earth loses the tournament, it’ll be the 10th in a row, which means the Outworld can take over the planet. So yes, the literal fate of the world is at stake in Mortal Kombat 2. Which of Earth’s fighters will step up and save us all? We’ll find out in a few months.
Head over to EW for more on Mortal Kombat 2 including some new images of Cage, Kitana, Scorpion, and Shao Kahn.
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