.<\/strong><\/p>\nIt\u2019s showtime, Mortal Kombat fans, because Mortal Kombat II<\/u> is now in theaters. The highly anticipated sequel to the 2021 reboot is entering its opening weekend with solid reviews<\/u> for a video game adaptation, including an 8\/10 from IGN\u2019s Max Scoville, who wrote that \u201cthe bar for video game movie sequels isn\u2019t very high, but this one not only clears the bar, it twirls it around like a bo staff.\u201d Between excellent fight scenes, the introduction of fan favorite kharacters like Johnny Cage, Kitana, and Shao Kahn, and the film embracing more of the series\u2019 campy tone and fantasy world-building, Mortal Kombat II looks to be a serious course correction after its predecessor\u2019s mixed reception. That we get a real Mortal Kombat tournament this time around also helps!<\/p>\n
But now that we\u2019ve seen the film, we have some burning questions both about how this one plays out and what it all means for Mortal Kombat III<\/u>, which is already confirmed to be in development. To that end, IGN spoke to director Simon McQuoid, writer Jeremy Slater, and stars Karl Urban and Joe Taslim to get their insights on if Shinnok will be the villain of Mortal Kombat III, what\u2019s next for Cole Young and Jax, how the first film\u2019s arcana concept became the franchise\u2019s \u201cmidichlorians,\u201d and much more.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s delve into all the spoilery details of Mortal Kombat II\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nFulfilling the Promises of Mortal Kombat I<\/h2>\n Mortal Kombat II shifts its focus away from franchise newcomer Cole Young (Lewis Tan), who was the lead of the last film. Instead, our two protagonists this time are Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) and Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), who are two of the most iconic heroes in the game series. They and a bunch of other returning faces like Cole, Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), and Jax (Mehcad Brooks) are assembled by Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) to defend Earthrealm against the forces of Shao Kahn\u2019s Outworld through the Mortal Kombat tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last movie ended with two promises,\u201d screenwriter Slater told me. \u201cThat the tournament was coming, and that Johnny Cage would be one of the combatants. And beyond that, it was basically the sky was the limit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are so many moving parts and I love the creative exercise,\u201d McQuoid told IGN. \u201cI wanted to bring the feeling of the opening of the first film, but just go sort of maximalistically. I wanted to keep a sophisticated tone running through it, but just balance all those facets like the comedy and brutality.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Mortal Kombat II Movie Images<\/h3>\n<\/span><\/output><\/p>\n
There are a lot of characters running around, but Johnny and Kitana stand out as the ones who receive the most development, with Johnny being a washed-out aging actor who needs to rediscover himself, and Kitana wanting to avenge her father\u2019s death at the hands of Shao Kahn. When asked about the new leads, Slater said \u201cMK1 sort of concluded the arcs and the storylines of characters like Cole and Sonya and Jax. We can give some other characters a chance in the spotlight. I think that approach really paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those journeys conclude with Johnny obtaining brief supernatural powers that allow him to shatter the Amulet of Shinnok, an artifact crucial to the villains\u2019 plans, and Kitana successfully killing Shao Kahn by carving his head into lunch meat. She subsequently takes up the throne of Outworld, seemingly to be a better ruler than her villainous adoptive father. Despite not sharing a lot of scenes, the movie parallels Johnny and Kitana\u2019s arcs and intercuts between them to sell the pair as the film\u2019s center. McQuoid elaborated on this approach, saying \u201cI wanted [the movie] to have this emotional core. And I think that’s what both Kitana and Johnny’s stories are. And they are the two pillars of the movie. And they thread together in the end.\u201d All well and good, but what about what\u2019s coming next?<\/p>\n
How the Arcana Concept From the First Movie Became the Franchise\u2019s \u2018Midichlorians\u2019<\/h2>\n One of the weirder aspects of the 2021 film was the introduction of \u201carcana,\u201d which does not originate from the mythology of the games. Characters would develop dragon tattoos indicating they could gain powers, and could even obtain them from others by killing them in battle. This idea is never mentioned in the sequel, which Slater said was very intentional.<\/p>\n
‘The arcana was just something that the hardcore fans never responded to.’
\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\u201cThe arcana was just something that the hardcore fans never responded to,\u201d said the writer. \u201cIt kind of became our midichlorians to some extent, of explaining something that they didn’t necessarily want an explanation for. The goal coming in was that we don’t need to contradict anything in that first movie, we don’t need to retcon anything or say, \u2018Oh wait, actually that’s not how it works,\u2019 but we also don’t need to double down on things that they’re not enjoying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slater outright said they won\u2019t mention arcana again, which is for the best, if you ask me.<\/p>\n
Mortal Kombat Mains, Improvised Lines, and Noob Saibot<\/h2>\n When asked who his Mortal Kombat main is, Slater said \u201cin the first one, it was Raiden. In the second one, it was Baraka\u2026 I was obsessed with Baraka. He was my favorite character. He was the person I was most adamant of \u2018I need to find a way to get him into this movie.\u2019\u201d This makes a lot of sense when you see the finished product, because Baraka gets a much bigger role than you might expect and winds up being one of the funniest characters in the film.<\/p>\n
Johnny Cage makes multiple jokes about Lord of the Rings in MK2, referencing Karl Urban\u2019s role as \u00c9omer in Peter Jackson\u2019s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Urban told IGN that he improvised those lines: \u201cWhen I was shooting Mortal Kombat, I kind of recognized the archetypes of a lot of the characters, which reminded me of when I was shooting Lord of the Rings. Your Raiden is your Gandalf and the other, the warriors, you’re members of the fellowship. And so I would sort of every now and then, like once we got what was on the script, I would just throw some Lord of the Rings shit in there like, \u2018Whoa, Gandalf, get me the fuck out of here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nBi-Han, aka Sub-Zero, returns to life as his spectral persona Noob Saibot, who has long been a fan favorite character in the games. Joe Taslim reprises his role as Bi-Han, but he did not play the Shadow (a ghostly double Bi-Han can conjure) during the fight scenes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m fighting Hiroyuki,\u201d the actor told IGN. \u201cBut when we’re together, when both of us are fighting Hiroyuki, of course, I don’t think the production wants to [digitize] or CGI a character\u2026 So we have a really talented fighter, also our choreographer, playing the Shadow.\u201d Taslim said he needed to work extra closely with the choreographer so that they moved the same way, since they\u2019re supposed to be the same character: \u201cSo for me, in terms of creative, to discuss \u2026 like how he moves, how he walks, and at the same time, I was really paying attention to \u2018That’s not how I fall. Please don’t fall like that. That’s not how I stand.\u2019 And then it’s a beautiful, beautiful collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will Shinnok Be the Villain of Mortal Kombat III?<\/h2>\n Shao Kahn, the overarching villain of the last two movies, is killed at the end of this one. While it is of course possible he will be resurrected, a different foe is foreshadowed in this film: Shinnok, a fallen Elder God whom fans know was the main antagonist of Mortal Kombat 4 and Mortal Kombat X.<\/p>\n
The Amulet of Shinnok, which has been a recurring plot element in many MK games, is used here to give Shao Kahn temporary immortality when it\u2019s charged up with Raiden\u2019s godly essence. When asked about Shinnok potentially showing up in a future installment, Slater said \u201cwe want to make sure that when Shinnok does arrive, that we have the space and the real estate to do justice to that character\u2026 I can’t say when he’s coming, but we’re certainly always in conversation about what our plans for Shinnok are. And those plans do start with the introduction of the Amulet in this movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
So rest easy, Shinnok stans: He\u2019s definitely on the filmmakers\u2019 radar!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nHow Will Cole Young and Jax Be Resurrected?<\/h2>\n Although the heroes come out on top in Mortal Kombat II, they do take some losses along the way. Cole Young and Jax are both killed by Shao Kahn, and Kung Lao (Max Huang) is still a revenant. However, the film ends with Kano (Josh Lawson), who has defected to the good guys, having managed to capture Netherrealm necromancer Quan Chi (Damon Herriman). Sonya says they can use his powers to revive Earthrealm\u2019s fallen champions, leaving the door open for those characters to return in Mortal Kombat 3.<\/p>\n
While we don\u2019t know how that will all work, Slater addressed this plot turn, saying \u201cwe killed off some very beloved characters, and that was by design\u2026 but some of these characters do still have stories left to tell in this universe, and some of these actors are people we really love and really want to see again in the franchise. We may be seeing them again in slightly different forms, but again, that’s part of the mystery and part of the fun going into 3.\u201d<\/p>\n
It sounds like we definitely haven\u2019t seen the last of our dead heroes, but whether or not Quan Chi will play along remains to be seen. And speaking of mysteries\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nWhat Happened to Liu Kang?<\/h2>\n One of the movie\u2019s biggest question marks is the fate of Liu Kang. While Shao Kahn does defeat and stab him with his Wrath Hammer, Liu doesn\u2019t seem <\/em>to die here. Instead, his eyes open wide and he says \u201cI understand now\u201d before transforming into fire and claiming he will find a way to save Kung Lao. We don\u2019t see him again after this, and he doesn\u2019t rejoin his friends at the end. So where is he?<\/p>\nSlater wouldn\u2019t confirm Liu\u2019s exact status, but he did say we would see the character again: \u201cThe question of where did he go, what happened to him, and how might he be different when he comes back, I think is the first part of a much larger story that I have planned for Liu Kang\u2026 there’s a lot of places we still want to take him on his journey.\u201d It looks like the mystery of Liu Kang\u2019s whereabouts will be one of the central plot threads in Mortal Kombat 3.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nShang Tsung\u2019s Deleted Scenes and Is a Deadly Alliance Adaptation Coming?<\/h2>\n Chin Han reprises his role as the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung, and his biggest contribution to the plot is stealing Raiden\u2019s powers to charge the Amulet of Shinnok. But although he\u2019s around and the film hints he may be making a play for Shao Kahn\u2019s throne, Slater told me much of Shang’s subplot was trimmed during the scripting phase before principal photography.<\/p>\n
“We did have to cut a lot of Shang’s material. Initially, there was a lot more with him where it was very clear that he was sort of playing 4D chess\u2026 that he was perhaps manipulating every aspect of the game board to try to arrive at a scenario where he would ultimately be the guy sitting in that throne.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Initially, there was a lot more with him where it was very clear that he was sort of playing 4D chess.’
\u201c<\/span><\/span><\/div>\nIf you know your Mortal Kombat lore, you know that Shang and Quan Chi worked together to seize power in the game Deadly Alliance, something Slater is keenly aware of: \u201cI will say you are absolutely going to see a lot more of Shang Tsung in the next movie.\u201d Good to know!<\/p>\n
Will We See Spin-Offs That Expand the Mortal Kombat Universe?<\/h2>\n Beyond Mortal Kombat III and more sequels in the main series, Slater is hopeful that we will see side projects about pairs of characters.<\/p>\n\n\nMore From Earthrealm<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n\u201cPart of the reality of doing these big ensemble films is that you can only get so much Liu Kang, you can only get so much Kung Lao,\u201d he says. \u201cBut if I could do a Shaolin Monks spin-off with Liu Kang and Kung Lao, or if I could do a Special Forces spin-off with Jax and Sonya\u2026 or who doesn’t want to see a movie that’s all Hanzo [Scorpion] the entire movie? That would be incredible, or a Deadly Alliance movie that’s all about the bad guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, he\u2019s quick to clarify that this is just wishing on his part, and these projects are not currently in development. \u201cNone of that is remotely official. That’s me as a fan saying I will write as many of these goddamn things as you let me, I love the characters, I love the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
What did you think of Mortal Kombat II? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n
With reporting by Tom Jorgensen<\/em><\/p>\nCarlos Morales writes novels, articles, and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/u><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n