“Mortal Kombat” Sequel in the Works With Director Simon McQuoid Returning

The deadliest tournament on the planet is returning.

Deadline reports that a Mortal Kombat sequel is in the works with director Simon McQuoid returning. The original film did quite well at the box office when it was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in April 2021. In fact, Mortal Kombat was one of the first films to lure folks back into theaters, and can credibly claim, along with F9 and A Quiet Place Part II, that it goosed the film industry right when it needed it most. While it was among the top titles ever on HBO Max, the number of people who wanted to see the bloody adaptation of the classic video game in theaters had surprised many in the industry. Now, a sequel is in the offing.

McQuoid will direct the sequel from a script by Jeremy Slater (the original film was scripted by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham, from a story by Oren Uziel and Russo). McQuoid is especially perfect to continue the adaptation of the mega-popular video game series, as his work for Xbox, PlayStation, Halo 3, and Call of Duty have won him many awards. Mortal Kombat was his feature debut.

Mortal Kombat followed the development of Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a young dad and failed MMA fighter unaware of his inheritance: as a direct descendent of 17th-century Japanese fighter Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada), he’s one of Earthrealm’s pre-destined champions in a violent tournament regularly held between different universes known as Mortal Kombat. One of the most well-known aspects of the original game are the brutal kills that end a fight, and when we spoke to McQuoid, he talked about embracing them:

“If you look at each of those fatalities, really what’s happening is they’re propelling a character forward, the one who gets the kill,” McQuoid told us. When champion Kung Lao (Max Huang) finally engages his metal coolie hat, a personal if otherwise impractical seeming accessory, to slice an invader, length-wise, in two, the grotesque visual is only half the point. “I think ultimately, the most satisfying thing about the hat in that sequence is Kung Lao’s skill,” the director said.

For more on Mortal Kombat, check out our interview with McQuoid:

Director Simon McQuoid on the Elemental and Supernatural of “Mortal Kombat”

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Featured image: Caption: (L-r) MEHCAD BROOKS as Major Jackson “Jax” Briggs and JOE TASLIM as Sub-Zero/Bi-Han in New Line Cinema’s action adventure “Mortal Kombat,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures