Mortal Kombat 2’s trailer apparently forgets a major part of the first film

It may have taken four years, but “Mortal Kombat II” is finally, almost about us. Warner Bros. And New Line published the “Mortal Kombat” of director Simon Mcquad in 2021, serving as a vision listed in the R series of video games. The studio quickly began to develop at least one suite and now we finally know what it will look like. He will have a real tournament, a bunch of new characters, a lot of blood and, it seems, a new protagonist.

The first trailer for “Mortal Kombat II” has just done his online debut, presenting what McCoad and screenwriter Jeremy Slater, of the reputation of “Moon Knight”, have prepared. It seems to be very consistent with what viewers could hope, mainly focusing on the actor’s fighter who became the world, Johnny Cage (with the favorite character of the fans played by Karl Urban of “The Boys” and “Lord of the Rings” Fame). The trailer puts him a lot like the centerpiece of the suite. The only problem? Cole Young was apparently sidelined accordingly.

Played by Lewis Tan, Cole Young was the MMA fighter who was the head of “Mortal Kombat”, having been marked as one of the Champions of the Earth for the Mortal Kombat tournament. The first film then ended with Cole sent to Los Angeles to recruit new fighters for the inevitable duel with Shang Tsung and his forces. This is where Johnny Cage was teasing for the first time. However, it seems that Cole was able to recruit its replacement at the top of the call sheet. Even the synopsis of the film clearly indicates on who focuses on the rest:

This time, the favorite champions of fans – now joined by Johnny Cage himself – are opposed to each other in the ultimate, without restraint, bloody battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn who threatens the very existence of earthworks and his defenders.

Tan appears only in a few very brief blows in the trailer that Cole. The writing seems to be on the wall. Although it can be frustrating for tanning as an actor, it is a decision that makes sense. One of the most bizarre things about Mcquad’s first “Mortal Kombat” film was the fact that he was based on a character created specifically for that, rather than fans knew the original video games. However, the “Mortal Kombat II” trailer clearly indicates that Mcquaud and Warner Bros. wanted to rely more on games this time. Obviously, this also means leaning on Cole.

By putting this aside for a moment, we have gone a long way since the release of the first film “Mortal Kombat” by director Paul WS Anderson in 1995. This film helped give a tone to video game movies for years to come, Hollywood is struggling to adapt these things for the big screen. In recent years, however, this has changed significantly thanks to “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “A Minecraft Movie”, among others.

But most of these films are intended for young audiences. “Mortal Kombat” is one of the rare franchises for video game movies which can be specifically for adults and the more mature public, and “Mortal Kombat II” seems to adopt the listed nature of the property which has helped to define it from the start. It should also be noted that “Mortal Kombat” of 2021 has only made $ 84 million at the box office against a budget of $ 55 million. It was by no means a theatrical blow, but he found a huge base of fans on HBO Max. Warner Bros. Made this film believing that, with the right catch, it could reach a greater crowd. Leaning on Johnny Cage is the right catch.

The distribution “Mortal Kombat II” also includes Tadanobu Asano (Lord Raiden), Joe Taslim (Bi-Han), Hiroyuki Sanada (Scorpion), Adeline Rudolph (Kitana), Jessica McNamee (Sonya Blade), Josh Lawson (Kano), Tati Gabrel), Mehcad Brooks (Jax) Gabrel), Mehcad Brooks (Jax), Tati Gabrel), Mehcad Brooks (Jax), Tati Gabrel), Mehcad Brooks (Jax), Tati Gabrel), Mehcad Brooks (Jax), Tati Gabrel), Mehcad Brooks (Jax), Tati Gabrel), Mehcad Brooks (Jax) (Jade), Damon Herriman (Quan Chi) and Chin Han (Shang Tsung).

“Mortal Kombat II” will be released in theaters on October 24, 2025.