Mortal Kombat 2is the most excitingMortal Kombatmovie in years because of something that was set up in the 2021 reboot. The firstMortal Kombatgamewas released in 1992 and instantly became well-known for its over-the-top, bloody violence. After the success of the firstMortal Kombatgame and its sequels, which further developed the lore of the franchise, it made sense for a movie to be made. It didn’t take long for the first live-actionMortal Kombatmovieto be made. However, reviews for 1995’sMortal Kombatand its sequel,Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, were not very positive.
After 1997’sMortal Kombat: Annihilationwas panned by critics and audiences, it took 24 years for another live-actionMortal Kombatmovie to be made. The story of 2021’sMortal Kombatreboot breathed new life into the franchise and successfully set up theupcomingMortal Kombat 2. However,even though there have been three live-actionMortal Kombatfilms, only one of them has featured an actual Mortal Kombat tournament. Thankfully, this is a problem thatMortal Kombat 2will help remedy.
There Hasn’t Been A Mortal Kombat Movie About Mortal Kombat Since 1995
The Last Two Movies Haven’t Featured A Mortal Kombat Tournament
InMortal Kombatlore,the tournament was created by the Elder Gods, who rule over the universe. TheMortal Kombattournament is usually held once every generation and acts as a way for Earthrealm, Outworld, and Netherrealm to fight each other without an actual war taking place. Per the rules of the tournament, if one of these realms wins ten tournaments in a row, then they are allowed to conquer another realm. Clearly, the tournament is an important part of the franchise, but 1995’sMortal Kombatis the only live-action film that has included one.
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Mortal Kombat 2 (2025)
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InMortal Kombat: Annihilation, Shao Khan broke the rules that were established by the Elder Gods and invaded Earth. Then,in the 2021 reboot, Shang Tsung also broke the rules and infiltrated Earthrealm to kill the champions before the tournament took place. Therefore, while both these films featured a lot of fighting, none of it was actually regulated by a Mortal Kombat tournament.
Mortal Kombat’s 2021 Reboot Took A Big Risk By Not Including The Tournament
2021’s Mortal Kombat Featured Shang Tsung Attacking Earthrealm Before The Tournament
It wasn’t all that surprising thatMortal Kombat: Annihilationdidn’t feature a proper tournament. Perhaps the creative team behind the film thought including another Mortal Kombat tournament wouldn’t have been as interesting to audiences after the characters just fought in one in the 1995 film. Therefore, even though it didn’t necessarily succeed,Mortal Kombat: Annihilationtried to raise the stakes of the series by having Shao Kahn disobey the Elder Gods and invade Earthrealm.
Mortal Kombat 2 Is Already Fixing The Franchise’s Worst Movie In 3 Major Ways
The upcoming Mortal Kombat 2 has the chance to be a much better sequel than 1997’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, which was panned by critics.
While this decision somewhat made sense forAnnihilation,I’m still shocked that the 2021Mortal Kombatreboot didn’t include a proper tournament. After all, a tournament is the perfect way to introduce all ofMortal Kombat’sbest charactersand establish the many different rivalries. Featuring a tournament has worked in plenty ofMortal Kombatvideo games, but the 2021 film instead took a huge risk and decided to introduce most of the series' main characters before the actual tournament takes place.
Mortal Kombat 2 Has To Include The Mortal Kombat Tournament, Right?
2021’s Mortal Kombat Perfectly Set Up A Tournament
After theending of 2021’sMortal Kombat, it wouldn’t make sense ifMortal Kombat 2didn’t feature a proper tournament. Shang Tsung failed to defeat Earthrealm’s best warriors in the 2021 film, which means thatcharacters like Cole Young, Sonya Blade, Jax Briggs, the teased Johnny Cage, and others will be present at the Mortal Kombat tournament in the sequel. Thankfully, it has been confirmed thatMortal Kombat 2will include a tournament, which will see the aforementioned characters fight the best warriors from Outworld and Netherrealm.
Shao Kahn, the menacing ruler of Outworld, will likely be deadset on making sure Earthrealm does not win the tournament.
Not many story details are currently known aboutMortal Kombat 2, but Shao Kahn will presumably be the main villain of the film. After Shang Tsung failed to defeat Earthrealm’s warriors, Shao Kahn, the menacing ruler of Outworld, will likely be deadset on making sure Earthrealm does not win the tournament. In addition to Shao Kahn,popular characters like Baraka, Kitana, and Quan Chi will also appear in the sequel. Including a proper tournament means that a lot more fights between iconic characters can take place, which makesMortal Kombat 2the most excitingMortal Kombatmovie in 30 years.
