Like it or not, Warner Bros. is probably going to be announcing a sequel to its live-action Mortal Kombat reboot in the near future. Despite a mixed reaction from critics, Mortal Kombat has been a hit in theaters and on HBO Max. The film drummed up more than $23 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend, which is certainly impressive given that there’s still a pandemic going on and that the movie is streaming online. In just three days, Mortal Kombat reportedly racked up 3.8 million views on HBO Max, a bigger total than Godzilla vs. Kong achieved in its opening five-day weekend.
Mortal Kombat is a big success, so it would come as a real surprise if a sequel wasn’t put into development sometime soon. Of course, as soon as that sequel is announced, the first thing on the minds of all fans will be which characters from the Mortal Kombat games will be added to the next movie’s roster. To be fair, most fans are already thinking about that anyway.
Assuming that there is a sequel, we all know that Johnny Cage will most definitely be involved. The final scene of Mortal Kombat all but explicitly said, “Johnny Cage is starring in the sequel, so be sure to tell your friends to watch this one!” Outside of the actor-turned-Earthrealm champion, there’s no telling which characters from the massive Mortal Kombat roster might be included in the second go-round.
So, while we wait for the Mortal Kombat sequel announcement, we decided to come up with a list of 10 characters we desperately want to see in the next film. We went ahead and omitted Johnny Cage from this list, since he’s basically already been announced. Who else needs to show up in Mortal Kombat 2? Let’s break it down.
Kitana
This first one is a bit of a gimme. Kitana is one of the most popular characters in Mortal Kombat history, and it came as a bit of a surprise to fans when it was announced she wasn’t in the movie. She didn’t get a Johnny Cage-like setup at the end of the film, but one of her classic weapons was seen in Raiden’s temple, hinting that she could be around somewhere.
Kitana makes a lot of sense for the story, as well. Given that nearly all of the villains were wiped out by the end of Mortal Kombat, the sequel will need to introduce more antagonists than protagonists. Yes, Kitana is usually a hero in the world of Mortal Kombat, but she doesn’t have to start that way on-screen. Given that she’s Shao Kahn’s stepdaughter, she could easily be presented as a villain in Mortal Kombat 2, only to pull a Kano and flip sides to help protect the realms.
Speaking of Shao Kahn…
Shao Kahn
How about two easy ones to start? Shao Kahn makes too much sense for the Mortal Kombat sequel, given that he’s one of the most powerful warriors in the entire series. Not to mention he’s often the ruler of Outworld in the games and there is a literal statue of him towering over the characters of the first film.
Shang Tsung is hoping to raise armies, and Shao Kahn would be key to leading those armies against the heroes of Earthrealm. The second movie is the time to go above and beyond the villains featured in the first, and there’s no one bigger or badder than Shao Kahn. It would honestly be a shock if he wasn’t included in the next chapter.
Nightwolf
The Mortal Kombat sequel needs more villains than heroes at this point, but it still needs a couple of new faces fighting for the protection of our realm. Nightwolf is a noble hero and could replace the stoic nature of Kung Lao, providing a perfect foil for Johnny Cage’s nonsense.
Nightwolf is also one of the few Mortal Kombat characters that had a very obvious Easter egg in the first movie. Given that the mantle of Nightwolf is passed down through generations, it would be easy to recruit a younger version of the hero that was featured on Sonya’s wall.
Plus, Nightwolf is hands-down one of the best-looking characters in Mortal Kombat history. He deserves some time in the live-action spotlight.
Shinnok
Shinnok’s medallion was featured in the first movie, hinting at the villain’s potential appearance in a future film. While he doesn’t seem quite as necessary for the second movie in the series as someone like Shao Kahn, Shinnok could appear as the eventual big bad of the entire trilogy.
Using a character like Shinnok is the perfect way for the Mortal Kombat films to dive deeper into the lore behind the tournament and the Elder Gods, giving Raiden a very formidable opponent.
You could easily make the same arguments for a character like Quan Chi, but Shinnok seems more likely given the medallion tease.
Erron Black
One thing that all Mortal Kombat fans can agree on when it comes to the movie sequel is that it needs a lot more Outworld. The glimpses of Outworld that we got in the first movie were great, but we need more going forward. So why not bring to life Outworld’s top gunslinger as well?
Erron Black is just such a well-designed character, and he would help ground the slew of Outworld characters likely making their way to live-action in the sequel. With all of the monstrous creatures and four-armed fighters, it would be refreshing to see a cowboy assassin join the fight.
Noob Saibot
Joe Taslim was too good as Sub-Zero to not bring him back for another movie. The history of the Mortal Kombat games provides two easy ways to do that: Bringing in Bi-Han’s brother to take over as Sub-Zero or resurrecting Bi-Han as Noob Saibot.
There’s no reason the next Mortal Kombat movie can’t do both. Sub-Zero needs to return, given his standing in the franchise’s iconography. But you can get the most bang for your buck by also introducing Noob Saibot and really letting Taslim go for broke.
Baraka
The first Mortal Kombat brought Goro to life, giving fans a real spectacle of a creature to behold. Baraka can fill the same role in the sequel. He’s absolutely disgusting to look at and always provides a fun fight for Johnny Cage.
The great thing about Baraka is that he could serve as an important villain in the sequel, or just a bit of canon fodder. He’s beloved by fans but ultimately serves little purpose in the story, so it could go either way, making him a perfect addition to the roster no matter what the creative team has in mind.
Sheeva
While Goro’s death provided Mortal Kombat with one of its best fatalities, it was ultimately frustrating for fans as the character could have been a much bigger deal in future films. Fortuantely, Sheeva can fill that role and continue the legacy of awesome Shokan characters on-screen.
In the games, Sheeva becomes the ruler of the Shokan after Goro’s father is killed. Just alter that story a little bit for the movies and have Goro be the previous Shokan king. After his death, Sheeva takes the throne and seeks revenge on Cole Young and the heroes of Earthrealm.
Every Mortal Kombat movie should have a Shokan warrior, plain and simple.
Kung Lao
No characters in Mortal Kombat are ever truly dead, so it stands to reason that any fighter who died in the first film could return in the sequel. However, of the characters that perished, Kung Lao is the one whose return makes the most sense.
Kung Lao’s soul was taken by Shang Tsung, so it stands to reason that explaining his resurrection wouldn’t take much work. His soul belongs to the enemy. Why not follow the games and resurrect Kung Lao as a Revenant? He can fight toe-to-toe with Liu Kang, providing the heroic monk with an emotional journey in the sequel.
Honestly, whatever it takes to get Max Haung back under the brim of that hat for Mortal Kombat 2, the creative team needs to do it. He was too good as Kung Lao to only appear in one movie.
Kollector
This one is just for fun. The Kollector is such a wild character, with some of the most monstrous moves in all of Mortal Kombat, he’d provide a great way to crank the film’s chaotic energy up to 11 for the sequel.
There are truly a million different ways you could squeeze Kollector into the next Mortal Kombat story, and he only needs a few minutes of screen time to be effective. He can appear in virtually any capacity and make the movie better for it.
