Although the original Mortal Kombat is the video game that inspired America’s love affair with cartoonish acts of brutality in their fighting games, it’s arguable that Mortal Kombat 2 was the game that truly launched the franchise into video game superstardom. Expanding the storyline, introducing iconic new stages and fatalities, and almost doubling the playable roster – MK2 was not just a thunderous success befitting Raiden himself, it also established many of the crucial players and much of the relevant lore in the franchise. And now, 23 years later, it seems as if the game’s film counterpart will be following in its footsteps.
On February 25, Warner Bros. released the official second trailer for Mortal Kombat 2 (only the second in a planned trilogy), heavily showcasing Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, but amidst all the bone-crunching martial arts on display there’s one character curiously absent from the proceedings: Cole Young, the original character and lead of the first film played by Lewis Tan. Young’s inclusion was criticized by fans who felt that his spotlight took away from the flagship characters in the series, and if the new trailer is any indication, the sequel is rectifying that mistake with an even bigger focus on the ensemble.
Whereas the first film took place prior to the Mortal Kombat tournament, Mortal Kombat 2 looks like it’s jumping straight into the action by focusing on the actual competition for the fate of the realms, with Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) making his second attempt to conquer Earthrealm on the big screen (the first being 1997’s famously lambasted Mortal Kombat: Annihilation). The appearance of the franchise’s most iconic final boss can only mean the stakes are higher than ever, and with the lack of focus on Cole Young in the marketing, many fans have speculated that the character will perish early on to make room for Johnny Cage, Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), and the other members of Raiden’s group of warriors. Regardless of exactly how it’s executed, Young taking a backseat in this installment is a perfect opportunity for the film to show off Mortal Kombat’s vast roster of supporting characters.
Because this film loosely adapts the events of the game MK2, certain aspects and characters of focus can be reasonably assumed. The appearance of Shao Kahn means we’ll probably get to see how he conquered the peaceful, Earth-like Kingdom of Edenia and enchanted the Queen, Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen), into becoming his bride; Princess Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) will also probably be front-and-center as Kahn’s forcibly adopted daughter, and in the trailer it appears as if she’ll be fomenting a sort of rebellion against the despot as well. Outside of the Edenian conflict though, it looks like Mortal Kombat 2 will be deepening the rivalry between Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada) and Bi-Han (Joe Taslim), as the former Sub-Zero shows up in the trailer fully transformed into the undead revenant known as Noob Saibot, which means his necromancer master Quan Chi (Damon Herriman) will also be up to his own sinister machinations.
Aside from those major players, though, there are a few other fan-favorites joining the cast this time around, including Tati Gabrielle and CJ Bloomfield as Jade and Baraka, respectively. There’s also the promise of further development for our returning heroes this time around, as Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and Kung Lao (Max Huang) were all relegated to the background of the first film to make room for Cole Young. With everything pointing to the character being retired when Mortal Kombat 2 finally arrives, the humongous pantheon of characters the series has collected over the years can finally start to get the spotlight on-screen.
