The big tournament between Earthrealm and Outworld has been put on hold for a while. In a shocking move, Warner Bros. and New Line’s Mortal Kombat II is getting a massive delay from October 24 this year to the start of next summer on May 15, 2026. Simon McQuoid‘s sequel had been ramping up the excitement lately with a killer 80s-era action teaser for Karl Urban‘s Johnny Cage and a Red Band trailer that broke records with nearly 107 million views in its first 24 hours. However, the decision, while a gut punch for fans, may give the movie a fighting chance at the box office as it moves away from the hotly anticipated Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere starring Jeremy Allen White and the Colleen Hoover adaptation Regretting You.
Delaying Mortal Kombat II is all about capitalizing on the hype for more big-screen fatalities. New Line has enjoyed flawless victories with the Mortal Kombat films, raking in over $257 million worldwide through three installments, with the latest slated to be the biggest yet. The aforementioned trailer, beating out the likes of Deadpool 2 and Logan to become the most-watched Red Band trailer debut ever, is a testament to the buzz surrounding the film as it expands to cover so much more from the world of Ed Boon and John Tobias‘s violent fighting games. It’s the company’s hope that the bigger and bloodier sequel will follow in the footsteps of the box-office smash Final Destination: Bloodlines, which debuted this past May, and soar to new franchise heights with the early summer release.
Although there are no public reviews of the film, test screenings are said to have been very well-received. While McQuoid‘s first outing in 2021 introduced the world and some of its champions, including the epic rivalry between Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada) and Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), it served more to set up the sequel, which will finally introduce the titular tournament and some of the most popular Earthrealm and Outworld fighters from the games. As such, the cast has been massively expanded, with the former trio and Urban joined by Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Martyn Ford, Tadanobu Hasano, and Chin Han, among others. Jeremy Slater also returned to pen the screenplay, picking up from where Cole Young’s (Tan) story left off after defeating Sub-Zero and setting off to Hollywood in search of Johnny Cage.
What Is ‘Mortal Kombat II’ About?
After coming together under Lord Raiden and awakening their arcana in the first film, the champions of Earth, along with their cocky new recruit Cage, are pitted against Outworld’s mightiest warriors, led by the fearsome Shao Khan (Ford), in the no-holds-barred tournament to determine the fate of their realm. A loss will subject all of humanity to Outworld rule and spell the end of the heroes as they know it. Even with some reinforcements, they face a gory uphill battle against Khan’s dark forces, including the necromancer Quan Chi (Herriman) and sorcerer Shang Tsung (Han). Despite his defeat, Bi-Han/Sub-Zero will also be back from Netherrealm as the wraith, Noob Saibot, and ready for another fiery showdown with his sworn foe, Hanzo Hasashi.
Mortal Kombat II is now set to premiere on May 15, 2026.
via Collider