Video game movies and shows have come a long way. Successful projects likeThe Last of Us, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Sonic the Hedgehog have shown studios that these franchises are worth investing in. That’s why Street Fighter and Assassin’s Creed are getting another shot at a film adaptation after a couple of failures in the past.
Another example is the 2021 success story of Mortal Kombat, and one of the upcoming video game projects audiences around the world can look forward to is the long-awaited sequel.
The first Mortal Kombat movie had a budget of $55 million and made over $80 million worldwide. The project could be considered a success as it also released on HBO Max at the same time due to the pandemic and became the platform's most successful film launch of all time. Sure, some things could be considered bad in the movie, but it was entertaining - especially Kano (who’s played by Josh Lawson).
Before the movie started filming, people thought it was a weird move to cast Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. Many thought WWE’s The Miz was the better option (this writer included). Thankfully, Urban is known for great performances in nerd culture. He was amazing as Judge Dredd in Dredd and Billy Butcher in The Boys, and the trailer for Mortal Kombat showed that the trend of brilliance would continue. And we can expect the same from the sequel. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a little longer to see that.
Mortal Kombat 2's delay could be a good thing in the long-run
Mortal Kombat II has been delayed and will no longer release this year. Instead of the movie’s planned October 24, 2025 release date, it will now arrive in movie theaters on May 15, 2026. When reporting the news, outlets like The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline pointed out that it’s a smart move since October 2025 has a pretty crowded landscape that could overshadow the sequel. However, there will still be a lot of competition in May 2026 with the releases of both The Mandalorian and Grogu and The Devil Wears Prada 2. The people going to see these movies may not overlap, but an overcrowded landscape could take away from Mortal Kombat II's box office numbers.
One source pointed out that Halloween being the weekend after the movie’s release, would hurt sales. This makes sense because October isn’t a big month for movies. Horror flicks do well because they don’t normally have a big budget, so a well-timed release around spooky season normally spells success. If the Mortal Kombat franchise wants to continue with its plans of multiple films, it must come out with a big opening weekend and keep the momentum going. So, maybe starting the summer movie blockbusters isn’t a bad idea.
Lastly, a delay allows all involved in the production to ensure that Mortal Kombat II is the best that it can be, allowing time for anything from rewrites to reshoots. After all, Marvel Studios delayed Avengers: Doomsday from May 2026 to December 2026 for that very reason; perhaps Mortal Kombat II can benefit from the same approach. For now, the best thing to do is to stay positive. Sometimes, movies getting pushed back leads to changes that make a project better. Hopefully, that’s the case here.
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