Mortal Kombat Writer Talks the Potential for Sequels, TV Shows

The Mortal Kombat reboot film from New Line Cinema is currently looking to hit theaters in 2021, and that's plenty of time to be thinking about how exactly the film fits within the greater franchise. After all, there's already the video games, and now a movie, so why not try to really get the most out of the reboot with sequels, or even a television show or two? Well, writer Greg Russo, who is working on several video game movie adaptations, says that they're focusing on the here and now, but obviously there's some thought being put into what comes next.

ComicBook.com recently spoke with Russo about the upcoming film, and when asked whether the new Mortal Kombat film might capitalize on the success of, say, the Marvel Cinematic Universe by connecting a bunch of stuff together, Russo was first and foremost clear that the current focus is on the first movie.

"The mantra from the studio, from the creative team behind the first film, is we really are focusing on that first film," Russo said. "We don't think beyond where we are. Right? You have to earn your success in this business. I think that's something that we can all agree on. You know, you don't get a sequel if you don't make the first film great. So I think everybody is just pouring their heart and soul into this first film to make sure that it's exciting, that it delivers across the board in everything that people want. And in success hopefully we can have further chapters."

"But I wouldn't be doing my job as a writer if I'm not always thinking, where can I go? Right? Where can I build this out? It would be almost foolish to write one story without ever thinking about where would the story go," he added. "So in my mind, yeah, I know where I would go in subsequent films. I think I have a pretty strong roadmap on where in terms of the world and the characters that aren't going to appear in this world. I have a plan for where they would show up moving forward. And yeah, I think there's also some ideas percolating in terms of other mediums in terms of television too. [...] Again, down the road."

What do you think of what you've heard so far about the upcoming reboot film? Would you be interested in some kind of larger Mortal Kombat universe, cinematic or otherwise? Let us know in the comments!

Mortal Kombat is set to release on March 5, 2021, giving Russo and the rest of the folks involved a good amount of time to work on it. For more Mortal Kombat reboot coverage, check out all of our previous coverage right here.