Mortal Kombat star Lewis Tan has teased a “bigger” and even more “insane” sequel to last year’s hit martial arts fantasy epic. Tan will return as newly created character Cole Young in Mortal Kombat 2, with the actor and martial artist revealing that he has been "training [his] ass off" in order to once again battle villains from the Outworld.
"Well, it impacts a lot, but not really us in particular because New Line is the studio that is under the branch of Warner Bros. But they're very happy with the movie, and obviously, it performed really well. It's one of the most-viewed films of their Warner Bros. Slate, even though it came out at the worst time ever possible. But no, we're full steam ahead. And now, we have Ed Boon with us as well, so we got the stamp of approval from the legend himself. #2 is just going to be absolutely insane. Way bigger."
Warner Bros. officially greenlit the Mortal Kombat sequel earlier this year, with Moon Knight writer Jeremy Slater tapped to pen the script. Tan’s recent description (which comes courtesy of Comicbook.com) of Mortal Kombat 2 echo the prior words of Slater, who has called the follow-up “bigger” and “bloodier.” Taking to social media, Slater declared that he is “beyond excited to be joining this team! We’re building something bigger and better and bloodier that’s going to blow people’s minds.”
Mortal Kombat 2 is Expected to Bring Fan-Favorite Fighter Johnny Cage into the Fray
While plot details for Mortal Kombat 2 remain largely unknown, though presumably it will involve groups of heroes and villains fighting, Slater has confirmed that it will introduce the fan-favorite fighter Johnny Cage. Though he isn’t sure how heavily involved Cage will be.
"Johnny Cage is one of my favorite characters, and I think there's definitely a promise with the way the first movie ends of seeing Cole being like, 'Okay, my next stop is to go recruit Johnny.' So I think if he wasn't included in the sequel at all, it would feel very strange," Slater explained. "It's still a little bit up in the air how much he will be included, it's one of the things we're currently working on. But yeah, I love Johnny and I would love to really do the definitive version, if possible, and really take everything that's fun about that character and bring that to live action."
The first Mortal Kombat, which adapts the iconic video game and acts as a reboot of the live-action adaptations from the 1990s, was directed by Simon McQuoid and stars a host of recognizable characters including Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, and Lewis Tan as new character Cole Young.
Mortal Kombat follows a washed-up MMA fighter who finds himself being hunted down by a clan of assassins. Concerned for the safety of himself and his family, he seeks out a team of fighters who were chosen to defend the Earthrealm in a high-stakes battle against the forces of the Outworld. Mortal Kombat was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max, and while it received mixed reviews, the movie proved to be a massive streaming hit and quickly became the most-successful HBO Max release.