The sequel to the 2021 Mortal Kombat film is set to drop in late 2025, and we’re getting bits and pieces of exciting new information as cast members, characters, and a rating have been revealed.
Surprising no one, the MPA has given the film an “R” rating for “strong bloody violence and gore, and language.” Though this may seem par for the course, the description contains an important distinction from the previous film, one that proved to be a hang up for more hardcore fans of Mortal Kombat. You’ll find out what it is below, along with a few other notable points we’ve found that are increasing our excitement for the movie. Spoilers ahead for the 2021 Mortal Kombat film.
Though fans clearly appreciated the 2021 film enough to spawn a sequel, they were not without their gripes. One of these was the fact that, though violent enough for an R-rating, one could argue it did not do the source material justice in the way of gross out gore.
Yes, some heads got smashed and some souls got sucked, but we’ve come to expect visuals that force us to laugh because we’d otherwise have to cry (or throw up), and the first film certainly didn’t go that hard.
The 2021 prequel received its rating for “strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references,” which you’ll notice is a list with the term “gore” conspicuously absent.
This updated rating suggests returning director, Simon McQuoid, and his team may have heard audience cries and made corrections that will make fans feel more at home. This includes having an actual tournament this time around, as the previous film only served to set up for the organized competition.
The presence of Cole Young, an entirely new character set in the protagonist role, has been controversial given there are so many beloved franchise figures fighting for screen time.
The character is now established and we’re sure he’ll continue to play a prominent role, but fingers are crossed it’s done in a way that doesn’t make us feel like beloved mainstays had to sacrifice too much spotlight to do so.
Lewis Tan is slated to reprise his role as the MMA fighter, but perhaps this time the central focus will shift to hone more on established MK characters like Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage, Hiroyuki Sanada’s Scorpion, or even Josh Lawson’s Kano.
The latter of those, Lawson, actually saw his character killed off in the first film. Kano proved to be a fan favorite in Mortal Kombat 2021 thanks to his charismatic and crude commentary throughout, and so many were sad to see who ended up becoming their favorite character fall to a Fatality.
Mortal Kombat has never taken death all that seriously, of course, and a closer look at the film’s developing IMDB page bills Lawson as the one-eyed leader of the Black Dragon Clan once again. It could be that he pops up only in a dream or flashback sequence, but our hopes are that he’ll be revived for a full performance.
Josh Lawson isn’t the only cast member apparently coming back after playing a character who was killed. Max Huang is reportedly returning to portray Kung Lao despite having his soul forcibly removed from his body by Shang Tsung in movie 1, for instance.
New characters who didn’t appear in the first film include Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen), Baraka (CJ Bloomfield), Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and Quan-Chi (Damon Herriman).
One of the main antagonists of the first film was Joe Taslim’s Sub-Zero, who terrorized team good guys throughout the course of the story. Now there is famously more than one Sub-Zero in MK lore as the first, whose name is Bi-Han, is much more of a bad guy than his younger brother, Kuai Liang.
As the legend goes, Bi-Han is killed by Scorpion during the events of the first MK game, but returns in Mortal Kombat 2 and beyond as the spectral ninja wraith: Noob Saibot. Cast lists for the upcoming movie bill Taslim as both “Bi-Han” and “Noob Saibot,” suggesting that the character will be reborn as the shadowy ninja.
We do note that, thus far, there does not seem to be another Sub-Zero amid the cast, so the current bet is that we won’t be seeing Kuai Liang quite yet.
Are you excited for this incoming Mortal Kombat movie, especially as we learn more and more about what’s in store? Let us know what you’re most (or least) looking forward to when it releases around Halloween 2025 in the comments below.