Mortal Kombat II (film)

In a flashback, Shao Kahn kills King Jerrod in Mortal Kombat, taking over Edenia in the name of the Outworld as well as Queen Sindel and Kitana as his consort and daughter respectively. Many years later with the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament on the horizon, Quan Chi, on orders of Shao Kahn, revives Kung Lao and Kano, unable to corrupt and control the latter due to his already corrupt nature. Back in Earthrealm, Lord Raiden and Sonya Blade retrieve Johnny Cage to fight as their fifth champion (alongside Liu Kang, Jax Briggs and Cole Young) but Johnny refuses to participate. The tournament begins and the first round with Sonya fighting Sindel and Johnny fighting Kitana. Sonya manages to kill Sindel, while Kitana defeats Johnny but spares him, against Shao Kahn's direct orders. Kitana reveals she is a spy for Raiden in the tournament, but her bodyguard Jade confronts her for betraying Shao Kahn. Quan Chi recovers Shinnok's stolen amulet from Kano. Quan Chi and Kung Lao attack and steal most of Raiden's power for the amulet, which they bind to Shao Kahn, making him immortal. Round 2 begins where Liu Kang and Kung Lao face off. Despite Liu Kang's best efforts, he is unable to get through to Kung Lao and is forced to kill him, promising to save him some day. Jax fights against Jade and defeats her, but spares her to repay what Kitana did for Johnny. Cole fights and manages to mortally wound Shao Kahn, but his wounds heal and he kills Cole. Realizing they cannot defeat Shao Kahn while he has the amulet, Liu Kang, Jax, Sonya and Johnny travel to the home of the Takartans. Johnny fights and defeats Baraka, earning his trust as he guides them to a hidden entrance below Shao Kahn's palace. Kitana is captured by Jade and Shao Kahn has Kitana tied up in the public square. The four Earthrealm Champions try and get the amulet but Jax is killed by Shao Kahn while Liu Kang and Sonya are taken away for the next round of the tournament. Kano, preferring Earthrealm to Outworld, betrays Shao Kahn and reveals to Johnny a revived Bi-Han has the amulet and is currently in the Netherrealm. Raiden, using what little power he has left, sends Kano and Johnny to Netherrealm to destroy the amulet. In the final round, Shao Kahn fights Liu Kang, with the latter realizing that he himself is not the chosen one. He evaporates into fire as he declares that he will rescue the fallen. Sonya frees Kitana before being knocked out by Shao Kahn who wins the tournament for Outworld. Kitana switches allegiances to Earthrealm, giving them one more champion, and fights Shao Kahn one on one. Johnny and Kano team up with the spirit of Scorpion and a reformed Jade to fight Bi-Han and they manage to destroy the Amulet. Now mortal, Shao Kahn is killed by Kitana, freeing Edenia and becoming its queen. Some time later, Johnny, Sonya, Raiden, Kitana, Jade, Kano, Baraka, and a captured Quan Chi prepare to try and recover the other fallen champions. ==Cast==

Mortal Kombat series co-creator Ed Boon has a cameo appearance in the film as a bartender. ==Production==

Development wrote the screenplay for Mortal Kombat II. Following the release of Mortal Kombat in April 2021, actor Joe Taslim revealed that he was contracted for four additional Mortal Kombat films, if Warner Bros. Pictures decided to create a franchise. Director Simon McQuoid stated that he was open to returning to direct a sequel if the story for it was good. In an interview after the film's release, McQuoid said that the character Johnny Cage was not introduced in the film because Johnny Cage was a "giant personality" and would throw the film out of balance. He revealed that potential sequels could explore the material for characters like Cage and Kitana. He also expressed that he would like to include more female characters. Co-writer Greg Russo told Collider that he saw the reboot as a trilogy with the first film set before the tournament, the second film set during the tournament and the third film set post-tournament. In November 2021, producer Todd Garner hinted at a sequel in development on Twitter, and in January 2022, the film was confirmed to be in development with Jeremy Slater writing the script. In May 2022, Slater confirmed plans to include Johnny Cage in the film, after the character had been set up at the end of Mortal Kombat, though he noted his exact role in the story had not been determined. That same month, Slater mentioned the film would "embrace some of [the] weirdness" inherent to the Mortal Kombat franchise, and that he wanted the film to be "unpredictable" and to defy fan expectations. In June 2022, he further explained that the sequel would address both positive and negative fan reactions to the first film. In July 2022, it was announced that the film had been greenlit by New Line and that McQuoid would return to direct the sequel. Casting In May 2023, Tati Gabrielle was in final negotiations to play Jade in the film, with Karl Urban also in final talks to play Cage. It was also reported that Jessica McNamee and Josh Lawson would return to play Sonya Blade and Kano respectively. Later that month, Adeline Rudolph, who had worked with Gabrielle on the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, joined the cast as Kitana, with Gabrielle confirmed to be playing Jade. In June 2023, Martyn Ford, Desmond Chiam, Ana Thu Nguyen, and Damon Herriman were cast as Shao Kahn, King Jerrod, Queen Sindel and Quan Chi, respectively. Due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, filming was suspended in July and resumed following the end of the strike in November 2023. Filming officially concluded in late January 2024. ==Release==

Mortal Kombat II premiered at TCL Chinese Theater on April 27, 2026, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on May 8, 2026. It was previously scheduled to release on October 24, 2025, and May 15, 2026. ==Reception==

In October 2025, during New York Comic Con, it was reported that a third film was in development, with Jeremy Slater returning as screenwriter. ==See also==