Mortal Kombat II fans believed they were only two months away from seeing Karl Urban lead the video game sequel on October 24, but now they are going to have to wait a lot longer to see those bloody and brutal fatalities again thanks to a hefty delay revealed today by Deadline. A shift in Warner Bros.’ slate means that Mortal Kombat II will now play out its tournament on May 15, 2026, instead.
The official announcement may not be a surprise to some, as there has been very little marketing around the movie, despite its seemingly imminent arrival. In fact, several fans on social media have asked on numerous occasions whether the film was still coming out at all. However, this shift – while incredibly frustrating so close to the film’s expected release date – may actually be a sign that there is a lot of faith in Mortal Kombat II being able to compete in the early summer, pre-Memorial Day slot.
Strangely, Mortal Kombat II’s original release date would have given the movie a fairly clear run at the box office, as it would have opened two weeks after Tron: Ares, going against the Jeremy Allen White-starring Bruce Springsteen biopic, Deliver Me From Nowhere, and then had no real competition until Predator: Badlands arrived in early November. Now, however, the film will have just one week’s grace before Disney releases their first Star Wars movie since 2019, The Mandalorian & Grogu, on May 22, 2026. Is this a move that will finish Mortal Kombat II before it has a chance to strike a blow?
‘Mortal Kombat II’ Is Looking to Build on the 2021 Reboot’s Tentative Success
Simon McQuoid returns to direct Mortal Kombat II, from a script by Jeremy Slater, with the sequel set to deliver what many wanted the first time: the actual tournament, a larger Outworld presence, and the arrival of Johnny Cage, played by Karl Urban. Returning cast includes Hiroyuki Sanada (Scorpion), Joe Taslim (Sub-Zero), Mehcad Brooks (Jax), Jessica McNamee (Sonya), Ludi Lin (Liu Kang), Chin Han (Shang Tsung), and Lewis Tan (Cole Young), joined by Adeline Rudolph (Kitana), Tati Gabrielle (Jade), Martyn Ford (Shao Kahn), Ana Thu Nguyen (Sindel), and Damon Herriman (Quan Chi).
Just like the first movie, Mortal Kombat II remains a hard-R affair, and will continue to aim to please its core audience – gamers who have been pulling out spines and splitting skulls for fun for decades. The production wrapped earlier this year, and the first trailer was released just a month ago, declaring the October release date.
Exactly why Mortal Kombat II has been moved so late to the release date is uncertain, but there is a chance that there is still some post-production work to be completed that is taking longer than initially expected. It is also not out of the question that the film could end up undergoing some additional filming reshoots as well. Currently, though, there are no signs that there is anything wrong with the movie, or that production issues have caused the delays. Of course, if there are any problems to be reported, we will let you know as soon as we find out.
Mortal Kombat II
- Release Date
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October 24, 2025
- Runtime
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116 Minutes
- Writers
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Jeremy Slater
- Producers
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E. Bennett Walsh, Toby Emmerich, Todd Garner, James Wan
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