Mortal Kombat 2 movie release postponed for 7 months — new date

Hints about the postponement of Mortal Kombat 2 appeared after the first test screenings, and now Warner Bros. has officially announced that the movie will be released 7 months later.

Mortal Kombat 2 was originally scheduled for release in October this year, and the new date is — May 15, 2026. Sources at Deadline (who are apparently closely associated with the studio) present the delay as a “smart move” as the spring-summer slot will supposedly bring the film “much more success” than the fall one. For Warner Bros., this year’s May was marked by a $300 million worldwide box office for a new “Final Destination”, which significantly exceeded forecasts.

In the case of Mortal Kombat, frankly, the bar is not high. The first film of 2021 received mediocre reviews and earned a total of $84 million which, however, was enough to launch the sequel. At the same time, the new film offers a “tricky casting” in the form of “Boys” star Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, after the protagonist of the first one, Cole Young (Lewis Tan), was met with a somewhat controversial reception, as well as has the advantage of finally showing the tournament.

Hiroyuki Sanada will reprise the role of Scorpio alongside such actors as Jessica McNamee (Sonya Blade), Josh Lawson (Kano), Tadanobu Asano (Raiden), Mehcad Brooks (Jax), Ludi Lin (Liu Kang), Chin Han (Shang Tsung), Joe Taslim (Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, who will appear in his dark version of Nub Saibot), as well as Max Huang (Kung Lao). Among the newcomers: Adeline Rudolph (Kitana), Martin Ford (Shao Kahn), Tati Gabriel, Desmond Chiam, Ana Thu Nguyen, and Damon Herriman.

Last week we were also introduced to a new look at Baraka (C.J. Bloomfield), a nomadic mutant from the Tarkatan race and a character whose cannibalistic brutality in the games was almost unmatched by his “colleagues.”

The film is directed by Simon McQuaid, for whom the first Mortal Kombat was his directorial debut after working exclusively on commercials. The script for the sequel was written by Jeremy Slater.

Previously, we have already seen character posters and the first trailer, which broke the genre record with over 100 million views per day.