EXCLUSIVE: Even with Mortal Kombat IIWith the release of still far away, New Line is already preparing to expand the film franchise with a third installment.
After writing and producing the sequel, Jeremy Slater plans to return as screenwriter, having announced Mortal Kombat III at New York Comic-Con. Sources said that Warner Bros. is very high on the second film, which, over the summer, shifted its release from October 24, 2025 to May 15, 2026. Their confidence was buoyed by the release of the first red-band trailer, which racked up 107 million views worldwide within 24 hours of its July release, setting a new all-time record for a red-band trailer.
There’s no word yet on the story for the third film, or when we can expect it. But it is expected to be the same production team this time. Producers on Mortal Kombat II included Todd Garner, James Wan, Toby Emmerich, E. Bennett Walsh and Simon McQuoid, who directed the first two films. With the exception of Emmerich, each of these creatives also produced the first film, released in 2021. Executive producers on Mortal Kombat II include Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Slater and Lawrence Kasanoff.
Based on the hit video game franchise created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, which was originally a 1992 arcade game by Midway Games, the Mortal Combat The films revolve around a series of martial arts tournaments held to determine the fate of realms like Earthrealm and Outworld. Tournaments pit heroes like Liu Kang, Raiden, and Sonya Blade against villains like Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, and Scorpion.
Lewis Tan led the 2021 film as Cole Young, an MMA fighter facing enemies from Outworld in a high-stakes battle for the universe. In the sequel, which expands on the world-building of the first film, the fan-favorite champions – now joined by Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) himself – face off in the ultimate, no-holds-barred and bloody battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) who threatens the very existence of the Earth Kingdom and its defenders.
In addition to Tan, the returning cast includes Jessica Mcnamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as B-Zerim and Suyoyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and score, and Max Huan as Kang Lao. Newcomers besides Urban and Ford include Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, Desmond Chiam, Ana Thu Nguyen and Dammon Herman.
McQuoid’s 2021 reboot of the Mortal Combat the franchise was a big success despite being released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max amid the Covid pandemic, grossing over $84 million worldwide. Unlike the first film, Mortal Kombat II will be able to test the rebooted franchise’s full box office potential with an exclusive theatrical release. It’s been a long road to projecting the sequel, which was forced to suspend production a month later due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, and finished production in early 2024, after the guild completed its final round of collective bargaining.
Mortal Kombat II And III Scribe Slater is best known for creating the Disney+ Marvel series Moon Knight with Oscar Isaac, as well as the hit Netflix series The Umbrella Academyalongside Steve Blackman and Fox The Exorcist. In film, his credits include Death threat, Godzilla x Kong: The New Kingdom, Fantastic Four, The Lazarus effectAnd Pet. He is repped by UTA, Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.
