Mortal Kombat II recently dropped its first trailer, breaking records for a red-band sneak peek with 107 million global views. Now, though, the movie has moved from October 24, later this year, to May 15, 2026.
That's a huge delay, and the news has been met with disappointment by many fans. Why the change? According to Deadline, the hope is that the sequel will perform much better at the start of summer, rather than in a busy October frame that will see it fight Deliver Me From Nowhere and Regretting You for the attention of moviegoers.
We're not sure that a Bruce Springsteen biopic or a new Colleen Hoover movie poses that much in the way of competition to Mortal Kombat II, but the trade notes that, "Halloween is the next weekend, and well, that’s not a so-vibrant time at the box office."
There's been speculation about behind-the-scenes issues with the movie potentially requiring reshoots, but this report debunks that by revealing "research screenings have been strong for the sequel."
With a May 15 release, Mortal Kombat II goes head-to-head with Amazon MGM Studios' Is God Is and an untitled Neon title. The Mandalorian and Grogu follows a week later, with Masters of the Universe, Toy Story 5, and Supergirl all on the way in June.
Released at the height of the pandemic in 2021, Mortal Kombat was a surprise hit with $84.4 million at the worldwide box office (it might not sound like much, but that was a lot at the time). Crucially, it proved a huge draw on HBO Max.
In Mortal Kombat II, Karl Urban stars as Johnny Cage, alongside Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, with Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion.
Director Simon McQuoid returns to helm the follow-up to his explosive 2021 cinematic adventure, from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater, based on the video game created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The film is produced by Todd Garner, James Wan, Toby Emmerich, E. Bennett Walsh and McQuoid, and executive produced by Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Slater, and Lawrence Kasanoff.
Joining McQuoid behind the camera are director of photography Stephen F. Windon, production designer Yohei Taneda, editor Stuart Levy and costume designer Cappi Ireland, with casting by Rich Delia and music by Benjamin Wallfisch.
Mortal Kombat II will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, and is only in theaters and IMAX on October 24 on May 15, 2026.