Despite being released in the midst of the pandemic (meaning it received a dual streaming/Digital release), Mortal Kombat exceeded box office expectations with $84 million worldwide against a $55 million budget. Unsurprisingly, there have been rumblings about a sequel for some time, but it's now been made official by Deadline.
The trade reveals that director Simon McQuoid will take the helm of the follow-up to his 2021 blockbuster, though writers Greg Russo and Dave Callaham won't be back.
Instead, Moon Knight Head Writer Jeremy Slater has been tapped to pen the screenplay.
The trade also notes that, "Execs were quick to get a sequel in development, and one of the first orders of business was bringing McQuoid back to direct."
Mortal Kombat didn't receive the greatest reviews from critics, though its 54% score on Rotten Tomatoes is countered by a 86% "Audience Score." Fans of this franchise clearly want more, and as the first movie ranks among HBO Max's most popular titles since launching, Warner Bros. no doubt hopes to have a huge hit on its hands with this sequel.
In our Mortal Kombat review, we concluded by saying "While Mortal Kombat certainly isn't "Game Over" for the iconic franchise, a painfully bad plot proves to be a 'Fatality' for a movie that features some otherwise brutal and excellent fight scenes. If you're only here for those, add another star."
We know many of you feel differently, of course, and we can't help but be a little more excited for this sequel knowing that Slater is working on the script. Moon Knight was by no means perfect, though we can imagine a stronger story for this next round of action (especially if Johnny Cage is being put front and centre).
Stay tuned for updates.