The long-awaited Mortal Kombat movie has finally been released, and fans of the game and action films in general are showing their love on social media. Joe Taslim has been singled out for special praise in the role of the villainous Sub-Zero. Director Simon McQuoid recently spoke to Variety about possible sequels, where the filmmaker explained that the lore of Mortal Kombat allows for various ways for dead characters to return to the central storyline, from reincarnation to alternate timelines.

"If you just look at the game, it's exactly what the game has done in a really interesting way. I think we can perhaps learn from [the games] and try to do something interesting - again, there's a big asterisk on all of this. I think the way they handle timelines and alternative iterations of the same character is really interesting. It doesn't always mean that character comes back, "Oh, I've been reincarnated. I'm the same."

In the games, dead characters pass on to a plane of existence similar to the afterlife, called the Netherrealm, from where they can still interact with the living world. In certain conditions, they can also return to the real world, as Sub-Zero has done after becoming the undead wraith Noob Saibot. Although Taslim's Sub-Zero died at the end of the Mortal Kombat movie, McQuoid hinted that he could make a return in future films, having been fundamentally changed by the event of his death.

"There's some really interesting evolution and growth of these characters. The experience of death informs who they become. So I guess I don't want death to be something that is inconsequential. That is something I certainly thought about as we discussed this story and what that means. So I think there are opportunities there, and certainly Sub-Zero has some opportunities."

In a previous interview, Taslim had confirmed that he has signed on for four more sequels to Mortal Kombat, so it is very likely that we will be seeing his character make a return in future installments of the franchise. The question is, will Taslim return as Sub-Zero, or will we get to see his transformation into Noob Saibot? Apart from teasing the return of Taslim's character, fans are already hyped for a sequel to Mortal Kombat since the movie ended on a cliffhanger promising the entry of fan-favorite character Johnny Cage.

Directed by Simon McQuoid and produced by James Wan, Mortal Kombat stars Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson "Jax" Bridges, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, Max Huang as Kung Lao, Sisi Stringer as Mileena, Matilda Kimber as Emily Young and Laura Brent as Allison Young. The film arrives in theaters and on HBO Max on April 23. This news arrives via Variety.