Mortal Kombat Fans Will Be Very Happy With This New Update (for 2 Reasons)

Mortal Kombat II hasn’t yet theaters, but there is already a good reason for fans of the franchise to be excited! It was confirmed at New York Comic-Con 2025 that Mortal Kombat 3 has already been greenlit. Not only that, but it was also confirmed that MK2 writer Jeremy Slater (Godzilla x Kong, Coyote vs. Acme) will be coming back to the script for the threequel.

At the NYCC panel, it was Slater who made the early proclamation that Mortal Kombat II was such a successful venture that Warner Bros. and New Line are confidently moving ahead with expanding the franchise.

“Our friends at New Line and Warner Bros. are so happy and excited with this movie,” Slater said. “They are so convinced that there is a giant fanbase waiting for it that they already hired me to start writing the next installment of ‘Mortal Kombat.’”

The Studio Is Betting On Big Success With Mortal Kombat II

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There is a lot of validity to what Jeremy Slater is saying, based on what we’ve seen from New Line and Warner Bros. Mortal Kombat II was originally supposed to be a Fall season release (in fact, it was due to hit theaters weeks from the time of writing this). Instead, the studios picked up stakes and moved the film to a new release date of May 15, 2026, one of the prime summer movie slots for a blockbuster film to occupy. That not only hints that the studio believes in what Slater, director Simon McQuoid (Mortal Kombat), and the cast and crew have done with the sequel – it also hints that the studio could be investing even more in the film (visual effects, marketing, merchandising), to pump it up to the level of what a summer blockbuster should be. The budget for the first Mortal Kombat was $55 million; there has been a lot less information given about what the budget is for the sequel, but it’s easy to assume that it’s higher.

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The first Mortal Kombat still managed to earn $84.4 million at the box office; that amount is significant when you factor in a lot of the contextual details surrounding its release. The film was part of the Warner Bros. slate that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic; the studio released its entire slate of 2021 movies onto streaming the same day as they hit theaters, based on the uncertainty of the theatergoing market at the time. So $84.4 million for Mortal Kombat is an even more impressive feat, as fans could’ve watched it at home and had to show great dedication to go to the theater. If that fanbase now has to go to the theater exclusively to see Mortal Kombat II, and the film manages to appeal to a wider action movie fanbase (beyond gamers), then getting Mortal Kombat III onto the fast track seems like a smart move to secure the franchise’s place.

Mortal Kombat II is slated to hit theaters on May 15, 2026.