Despite what recent rumors have suggested with regards to the big bad scheduled to appear in a future sequel to this year’s Mortal Kombat movie, there could be a stepping stone to cross before Shao Kahn debuts in all his glory.
For those not aware of franchise lore, that name belongs to the de facto ruler of Outworld who holds an iron grip on its people via the use of fear and violence. But because even the most fearsome of leaders can never hope to maintain constant watch over every subject, Kahn employs a number of trusted advisors to carry out various tasks in his stead, including Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. While both sorcerers pledge undying loyalty to their emperor, the latter is, in fact, an underling of the fallen Elder God Shinnok.
Residing in the NetherRealm, it’s revealed throughout the course of the series that Scorpion and Sub-Zero’s feud, predicated on the belief that Bi Han murdered Hanzo Hisashi’s clan and family out of cold blood, was actually a result of Quan Chi’s manipulations to get his hands on the Amulet of Shinnok, a trinket which, ages past, had been used to imprison the deity. Upon discovering this betrayal, Scorpion swears revenge on the necromancer, in turn replacing his hatred for the Lin Kuei clan, now led by Bi Hand’s younger brother and adopter of the Sub-Zero mantle, Kuai Liang.
While it’s certainly possible that this subplot could be explored in Mortal Kombat 2, it’s worth noting that the addition of Cole Young as an ancestor of Hisashi’s has established a completely different sequence of events. That being the case, fans are very much in uncharted territory as far as major story beats are concerned and it’ll be interesting to see how filmmakers incorporate this well-known backstory into the live-action adaptation.
Mortal Kombat 2 is rumored to be in development now, but we’re still waiting on an official confirmation from the studio.
