New Line's recent Mortal Kombat reboot didn't exactly achieve a flawless victory at the box office, but it performed well enough - especially as one of the first major Covid-era releases with a day-and-date streaming debut - to warrant a sequel, and cameras have been rolling in Australia since June.
Like pretty much every other major production, Mortal Kombat 2 was forced to pause filming due to the recent SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, but star Karl Urban (Johnny Cage) has now confirmed that shooting is back on with a new Instagram photo.
The shot features a clean-shaven Urban with blond highlights alongside some of his cast mates, including Mehcad Brooks, who will reprise his role as Jax Briggs.
The sequel will also see the debut of some new heroes and villains from the long-running video game series.
Martyn Ford (Red Sonja) will play villainous Outworld emperor Shao Kahn, Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) will take on the role of Edenian King Jerrod, Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) is on board as Queen Sindel, and Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time In Hollywood) will portray Netherrealm demon Quan Chi.
They join fellow new additions Tati Gabrielle and Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Jade and Kitana, respectively.
It's also been confirmed that pretty much all of the main characters - even the ones that were (seemingly) killed off - from the first movie will return, with Lewis Tan back as Cole Young (ugh), Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao.
Check out the photo below, and keep an eye out for updates (a little birdy tells us that an official promo still might be just around the corner).
"Hunted by the fearsome warrior Sub-Zero, MMA fighter Cole Young finds sanctuary at the temple of Lord Raiden. Training with experienced fighters Liu Kang, Kung Lao and the rogue mercenary Kano, Cole prepares to stand with Earth's greatest champions to take on the enemies from Outworld in a high-stakes battle for the universe."
Simon McQuoid is back in the director's chair, this time working from a from Jeremy Slater. James Wan is producing alongside McQuoid, Todd Garner, Michael Clear, and E. Bennett Walsh.
The Mortal Kombat sequel hasn't been given an official release date.