Mortal Kombat 2 In The Works?
Mortal Kombat 2 looks to be getting fast-tracked.
This article is more than 2 years old
The Mortal Kombat reboot was a massive gamble for Warner Bros. Sure, it is drawing from a beloved fighting game franchise that is second to none when it comes to brutality and popularity. But after the critical failure that was the 1995 original, many were skeptical that this new attempt at adapting the video game franchise would be worth the wait—or the hype. And fans already have their opinions on the new adaptation. While we can argue all day about whether or not the creative team succeeded at delivering a worthwhile adaptation, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Warner Bros. has a commercial success on its hands. And if a new rumor is to be believed, then we may be getting Mortal Kombat 2 in the very near future.
According to We Got This Covered, this commercial success has led to some optimistic internal discussions about the future of the franchise. And yes, that means exactly what you think it means: Mortal Kombat 2 is the topic of active discussion behind the scenes. Obviously, none of this has been substantiated by the studio or the trades just yet, but it definitely is well within the realm of possibility. Honestly, no part of a Mortal Kombat 2 announcement should surprise anyone for even a second. And it probably won’t anyway. This franchise is so rich and so beloved that even if Simon McQuoid did not get the green light to do a sequel, somebody else sometime down the line would convince Warner Bros. to take another stab at bringing the games to the big screen. It is inevitable at this point. But according to WeGotThisCovered’s recent report, fans can expect an official announcement regarding the sequel sooner rather than later.
The new Mortal Kombat remake, which hit HBO Max and theaters simultaneously on April 23, was directed by Simon McQuoid who is expected to return for Mortal Kombat 2. The film received lackluster reviews but proved an enormous hit for HBO Max, boasting better weekend numbers than even Adam Wingard’s heavy-hitting monster-masher Godzilla vs. Kong. That was especially surprising considering how immediately successful Wingard’s MonsterVerse film was. Still, though, despite its success amongst fans, the film did not quite thrill most fans the way Godzilla vs. Kong did. I’m not sure how much that matters, but it’s worth exploring.
The Mortal Kombat video game franchise – originally developed by Midway Games – has been going strong since its debut in 1992. Now, it is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, as well as one of the most successful fighting game franchises to ever grace video game history. After Midway Games went bankrupt, Warner Bros. acquired Mortal Kombat and rebranded the development team as NetherRealm Studios. Warner Bros. will also be overseeing Mortal Kombat 2.
Paul W.S. Anderson’s aforementioned, notoriously bad Mortal Kombat movie from the mid-1990s definitely fueled fans’ doubt about McQuoid’s ambitious reboot, but it is nice to see that so many people gave it a shot and ended up enjoying it. Who knows? Maybe Mortal Kombat 2 will be even more ridiculous and fun than this one so unabashedly turned out to be.
You can catch Simon McQuoid’s Mortal Kombat reboot on HBO Max (for a limited time) or in theaters. And we will be keeping our eyes open for more news about Mortal Kombat 2.
