If you’re one of the millions of fans who’ve been counting down the days until Mortal Kombat II arrives in theaters, Warner Bros. has one more countdown for you to add to your list. While the official trailer drops on July 17 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, something is planned to keep fans on the hook until the trailer is released.
Mortal Kombat II is officially dropping on October 24, 2025, and it picks up right where the 2021 reboot left off. Only this time, the actual Mortal Kombat tournament finally takes the spotlight. Earthrealm is down bad, sitting on the edge of its tenth straight loss, which would open the door for none other than Shao Kahn to roll through and take over. No pressure, right?
A bunch of the original cast is back, including Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Josh Lawson as Kano, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. And yeah, some of these characters died in the last movie, but this is Mortal Kombat. Death isn’t exactly permanent when magic and Netherrealm shenanigans are in play, either in-game or movie format.
On the new roster side, we’ve got Karl Urban stepping in as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn, Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel, Damon Herriman as Quan Chi, Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod, and CJ Bloomfield as Baraka. That’s a pretty stacked lineup—and a lot of fan-favorite characters finally getting some live-action love.
Personally, I have to say that this all feels a little surreal. I’m old enough to remember when the original Mortal Kombat games hit arcades, when the first live-action movie dropped, and even when Mortal Kombat: Annihilation tried (and failed) to follow it up. Now here we are, in 2025, with a rebooted franchise that’s gone full circle with reimagining the games, the stories, and now the films once again.
I saw Annihilation in theaters back in 1997, and yeah… that one still stings. So I’m just hoping Mortal Kombat II manages to break the curse of bad MK sequels. If it delivers the tournament, the action, and the grit we’ve all been waiting for, then maybe this time around we’ll finally get the movie this franchise deserves.
Mortal Kombat II is officially being released in theaters on October 24, 2025.
