Finish him… next year. Warner Bros. and New Line’s Mortal Kombat 2 won’t be landing in theaters this fall as planned. Instead, the highly anticipated sequel will now open on May 15, 2026, shifting from its original October 24, 2025 date.
So, why the push? Turns out, strategy is everything in the box office arena. The Simon McQuoid-directed sequel scored a knockout with its red-band trailer, racking up a staggering 107 million global views, but releasing in late October would have meant duking it out with heavy hitters like 20th Century Studios’ Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (starring Jeremy Allen White) and Paramount’s Colleen Hoover adaptation Regretting You. Plus, Halloween weekend isn’t exactly prime time for big movie debuts.
Instead, Warner Bros. is betting on May, a month that delivered huge wins this year when Final Destination: Bloodlines opened to a franchise-best $51.6 million and went on to gross $301 million worldwide. The studio is hoping Mortal Kombat 2 can repeat history — or even surpass it. To date, the three films in the franchise have pulled in $257.8 million globally, according to Deadline.
Adding to the confidence: test screenings have reportedly gone over well. The sequel brings in Karl Urban as fan-favorite Johnny Cage, alongside Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion.
On opening weekend, Mortal Kombat 2 will face off against Amazon MGM Studios’ Is God Is and an untitled Neon release. The screenplay comes from Jeremy Slater, based on the iconic video game by Ed Boon and John Tobias, with producers Todd Garner, James Wan, Toby Emmerich, E. Bennett Walsh, and McQuoid leading the charge.
As for what’s next for Earthrealm’s defenders? The sequel’s official blurb promises plenty of gore and glory: “In part two, the fan favorite champions—now joined by Johnny Cage himself—are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earth realm and its defenders.”