Plus, will there be a “Mortal Kombat 3”?

Mortal Kombat 2 ending explained: Director Simon McQuoid unpacks those gnarly deaths and what’s next

Plus, will there be a "Mortal Kombat 3"?

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in Vanity Fair, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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May 8, 2026 7:00 p.m. ET

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Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Jessica McNamee, and Karl Urban in 'Mortal Kombat II'. Credit:

Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

- *Mortal Kombat II* director Simon McQuoid breaks down the major deaths, shifting away from Cole's story, and more.

- The filmmaker teases what happens to Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) in the end.

- Will there be a *Mortal Kombat III*? "I never want to be cocky about how anything's going to land or play," he says.

**This article contains spoilers from *Mortal Kombat II*.**

It wouldn't be *Mortal Kombat* without a few fatalities, and the big sequel to 2021's blockbuster slugger did not hold back.

*Mortal Kombat II*, which Warner Bros. and New Line delayed half a year to capitalize on the summer movie season, focused on the titular tournament — a series of brutal one-on-one brawls to the death between our heroes of Earthrealm and the looming invaders of Outworld to decide the fate of the planet. While Earthrealm's champions, including Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), came out on top, they suffered profound losses in the process.

Cole Young (Lewis Tan), the focus of the first movie, died early on at the hands of Outworld tyrant Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford). The metal-armed Jax (Mehcad Brooks) followed soon after.

McQuoid describes Jax's arc as "noble" and noted the audience reaction to that character death during a recent screening event. "There was this really palpable and noticeable gasp in the room when he died," he recalls. "Really, my goal all along has been that. I want the audience to connect and care about every single character."

Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) then appears to die in the third act, but his phoenix-like vanishing act, the general lack of a corpse, and his promise to rescue Kung Lao and the others from the afterlife suggest that he really ascended to become a more powerful entity.

At the very least, the ending confidently sets the stage for a third film. The remaining champions, now including Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and Jade (Tati Gabrielle), captured Shao Khan's necromancer and vowed to travel into the Netherrealm to bring their friends back from the dead.

Will there be a Mortal Kombat 3?

Simon McQuoid on set of 'Mortal Kombat II'.

At a New York Comic Con panel in 2025, screenwriter Jeremy Slater announced the studio had already hired him to write *Mortal Kombat III*. Speaking to ** in the weeks before the second movie opens in theaters, director Simon McQuoid doesn't as confidently declare another sequel.

"We knew how we were ending this film," McQuoid says. "You don't want to be overly confident. I never want to be cocky about how anything's going to land or play. You think about it, and you theorize it. So I guess I'm still in that mode where it hasn't even come out yet. Ask me after May 8."

'Mortal Kombat 2' star on how Kitana plays just as big of a role as Johnny Cage (exclusive)

'Mortal Kombat 2' star Karl Urban calls Johnny Cage 'the most challenging role' of his career

Meaning, if you want to see a third movie, go out and buy movie tickets.

The filmmaker confirms, however, that he knows where the story goes from here. "There's so much to draw from, and that's both overwhelming and really exciting," he continues. "There's always a, 'What about *that* character?' It never really stops."

The fate of Cole Young

Lewis Tan as Cole Young in 'Mortal Kombat II'.

Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

McQuoid and the creatives knew one thing going into *Mortal Kombat II*: "We had to take some brave swings, literally." That meant making the stakes brutally clear to the audience. "It was really important to us for the kills to be surprising," he continues. "We really wanted people to be like, 'No one is untouchable here.'"

That goes for Tan's Cole. The entire first movie focused on Sonya and Jax recruiting Cole to join Team Earthrealm, and this disgraced MMA fighter realizing his full potential as the descendant of Scorpion/Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada). His character arc culminated in unlocking his arcana, which manifested as the power to summon a metallic skin that can absorb and repurpose kinetic energy from physical blows.

Cole, however, isn't a major figure in *Mortal Kombat II*. When he's selected for his first fight, it's against Shao Kahn himself, who makes easy work of the champion.

"Lewis Tan is an exceptionally gifted actor and martial arts fighter. He's a great guy," McQuoid comments. "He's certainly someone I would love to keep working with in the future. So I'd say there's a positive spin going forward with Lewis, for me."

A series of story choices led to Cole's death in this context. The team knew they were introducing Johnny Cage, a washed-up movie star, in the sequel; a post-credits scene from the first signaled his arrival. The director also wanted more female representation, so he brought in Kitana as another main character. "And when you have Kitana, then you have Jade," McQuoid adds.

Having left him out of 2021's *Mortal Kombat*, the crew also brought in Shao Kahn. "All of a sudden," McQuoid explains, "you're in this plate-spinning equalization calibration mode where you want to give everyone their moment...You add all those things together, and it just started to crystallize what we wanted to do."

Liu Kang vs. Kung Lao

Max Huang as Kung Lao, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang in 'Mortal Kombat II'.

Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

Of all the matchups in *Mortal Kombat II*, there was something profound to McQuoid about the Liu Kang fight against Kung Lao. The latter died during the events of the first film when Outworld sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han) consumed Lao's soul. Kang's close friend then returns in the sequel as a dark shade of his former self to fight for the enemy.

"Liu Kang doesn't want to have this fight, but Kung Lao is revenant, brutal, determined, and singular. There was something really beautiful about the fact that they had to fight at this point," the director says. "So it needed to have the biggest, most beautiful scale environment to be in."

McQuoid grew excited over incorporating familiar arenas from across the history of the video games. In this case, he brought back the blue portal landscape from the old-school SEGA Genesis era to serve as the backdrop, only now elevated for IMAX screens.

The blue portal feels right for their characters. It feels right for the moment in the film," McQuoid notes. "Interestingly, where Kung Lao and Liu Kang are fire blasting each other right in the middle of that fight, and there's that big wide shot that moves in on those guys, that's roughly the midpoint of the film. So in my mind, that's kind of a join down the middle. We've got Kung Lao on one side and Liu Kang on the other."

What happened to Liu Kang?

Ludi Lin as Liu Kang in 'Mortal Kombat II'.

Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

After defeating Lao in the Mortal Kombat of *Mortal Kombat*, Kang faces Shao Kahn himself, meeting his end at the end of the Outworld emperor's warhammer.

McQuoid points to an earlier moment in the film when thunder god Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) whispers something to the man with the fiery fists on his deathbed. Kang thinks it's cryptic at the time, but it's in this moment that he realizes the meaning. He accepts that he isn't Earthrealm's strongest champion and instead vows to resurrect his fallen allies before disintegrating into thin air.

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It doesn't appear to be a true death. When asked about Kang dying at the hands of Shao Kahn, McQuoid corrects it to "what he does at the end."

"I thought Ludi did the most astounding job in this movie," he adds. "He brings a selfless spirituality to that character. And that's what Liu Kang is, but Ludi did a great job of amplifying that and really making sure that was central. [Kang's] selfless and just wants the best for Kung Lao, even in this terrible situation. So I think there was something really beautiful about what Liu Kang does in the end because it ultimately puts himself at more risk and danger and jeopardy. This is not about this moment right here."

*Mortal Kombat II* is now playing in theaters.

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