It had been hinted that a delay was coming for this one, and Warner Bros. has now made it official.
After multiple test screenings, “Mortal Kombat 2”—originally slated for release this October—has been pushed back seven months to May 15, 2026.
A trailer dropped a few months ago and pulled in an impressive 107M views. Deadline’s sources (let’s be honest, almost certainly Warner Bros.-aligned) are spinning the delay as a savvy move, claiming that shifting the film into a summer slot will generate “tons more” traction than an October 2025 launch could.
That mid-May frame has been good to WB before: it’s the exact spot where “Final Destination: Bloodlines” opened and quietly raked in $300M worldwide, far beyond expectations. So the logic is clear—better to position “Mortal Kombat 2” as a popcorn-season tentpole rather than a fall filler.
Still, let’s be honest, the bar for these films is not high. The first “Mortal Kombat” (2021) wasn’t exactly a critical darling—it got middling reviews at best—but it managed $83M globally during a rough box office year and picked up a decent following on streaming. That was enough to justify a sequel, which in Hollywood, is really all that matters.
This time, there are at least some intriguing pieces in place. Karl Urban stepping in as Johnny Cage feels like shrewd casting and Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo/Scorpion is one of those performers who elevates every scene he’s in, no matter how pulpy the material. It’s not nothing.
Simon McQuoid is back, despite the mixed reception to his first outing. Outside of “Mortal Kombat,” his filmography is nonexistent. Before this franchise, he was best known for commercials and ad work (H&R Block and Corona beer). Warner Bros. clearly trusts him with their martial arts fantasy brand, but whether he can craft something that appeals beyond the built-in fanbase is still very much unproven.
While James L. Brooks teased last year that "we'll soon be seeing" Jack Nicholson, 89, act again, and that he was "reading scripts," that idea has now been shut down by his close friend Michael Douglas, 82.