Mortal Kombat fans are ringing in the New Year with a sneak peek at the upcoming video game sequel as producer Todd Garner shared a new image on X giving a look at the villainous Shao Kahn. This is not the first time the character has been adapted into a live-action movie, after appearing in 1997’s Mortal Kombat Annihilation, but unlike previous versions, this time it looks like an effort has been made to do him right.
As one of the most fearsome villains of the video game, Shao Kahn is a towering, intimidating character that has a very distinct and dominant look. Annihilation did not do him justice at all. Both his stature and costume were lacking, like many things in the movie, but that is not something that will be happening this time around.
As seen in the new image shared by Garner, Martyn Ford strikes a menacing figure, with his head-and-shoulders-above-the-rest height (six foot eight inches to be exact) and game-accurate costume, including a red cape. While this is only a teasing glimpse at one of the deadliest villains of the franchise, it is another sign that Mortal Kombat II can be a huge success when it is released in May 2026.
‘Mortal Kombat II’ Is the “Best Fight Movie of the Year”
While everyone is looking forward to seeing the new roster of characters being added to Mortal Kombat II, fans of the franchise will also be welcoming back several stars of the 2021 movie, including Lewis Tan, who reprises his role as Cole Young. In early December, Tan teased the film as the “best fight movie” coming to cinemas in 2026, despite it having competition from the reboot of Street Fighter. Comparing the film’s fatalities to its predecessor, Tan said:
“I think it’s worse. Some of the fatalities and some of the fights are worse. But they are way more detailed and way more complex, which is what I wanted… to step up the level of complexity and depth in the fights. It’s Mortal frigging Kombat. We should have the best fight movie of the year. That has to be the goal. I think we accomplished that.”
Fans of Mortal Kombat was to see gore, brutal kills, and violence galore. That is something that is coming in the second movie and is clearly going to up the ante on the first film. While the 2021 movie was a reasonable hit, it did suffer from being released during the Covid pandemic. This time, Mortal Kombat II has a clear run at the box office, which both allows it an unrestricted shot at success but opens the potential for the film to just match the first film. Which way the coin lands will ultimately decide the fate of the franchise going forward.
Mortal Kombat II has an ensemble cast and crew. 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). The film was originally slated to release in October 2025, but being shifted to May 2026 suggests that Warner Bros. have faith in the movie being able to perform well ahead of the year’s big summer releases.
- Release Date
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May 15, 2026
- 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
- Franchise(s)
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Mortal Kombat
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