EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros and New Line’s Mortal Kombat 2 will now fight toward the start of next summer on May 15, 2026 instead of Oct. 24 this year.
What the? Why is a highly anticipated sequel moving to next year after notching record views for a red-band trailer (107M global views). Precisely that: the Simon McQuoid-directed sequel is bound to deliver tons more in mid-May than staying in the crowded late October frame where 20th Century Studios’ Jeremy Allen White Bruce Springsteen movie, Springsteen Deliver Me From Nowhere, and the next Colleen Hoover feature take, Paramount’s Regretting You, exists. Also, Halloween is the next weekend, and well, that’s not a so-vibrant time at the box office.
Mid-May wound up being a bonanza time frame for Warner Bros/New Line this past summer with Final Destination: Bloodlines opening to a franchise record of $51.6M (the pic was also best in series with a record $138.1M U.S./$301M WW take). To date, the three Mortal Kombat movies from New Line have minted $257.8M around the globe.
We also understand research screenings have been strong for the sequel which stars Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, alongside Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, with Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion.
Mortal Kombat II will go up against Amazon MGM Studios’ Is God Is, and an untitled Neon theatrical release. Warners always had the date RSVP’ed in ComScore.
Screenplay is by Jeremy Slater, based on the videogame created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. Producers are Todd Garner, James Wan, Toby Emmerich, E. Bennett Walsh and McQuoid. EPs are Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Jeremy Slater and Lawrence Kasanoff.
Blurb: In part two, the fan favorite champions—now joined by Johnny Cage himself—are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earth realm and its defenders.