Unsurprisingly, reactions to Mortal Kombat‘s debut trailer have been overwhelmingly positive since it dropped last month.
Similarly to Paul W.S. Anderson’s original 1995 version, the director of this year’s reboot, Simon McQuoid, is keenly aware of what fans want out of a movie all about superpowered entities beating the living daylights out of each other, with all the hallmarks one would expect (Fatalities, iconic characters and dialogue) being present and accounted for. It’s worth noting, of course, that the footage showed so far represents only a fraction of the unashamedly violent martial arts flick, so a final verdict won’t be delivered until the film’s release next month. But suffice it to say, early signs are outwardly promising.
Assuming it proves to be a hit at the box office, then, it would seem as if McQuoid and the entire team involved with the project already know exactly where a sequel will take Earthrealm’s heroes. For those not aware, the franchise’s overarching story involves an ancient tournament held between two dimensions, Earth and Outworld. The latter of these is a dystopian world ruled over by Shao Kahn, a tyrannical and ruthless leader whose sole aim is to invade and conquer mankind’s home.
As dictated by a creed handed down by the Elder Gods, this subjugation effort will only be allowed if Outworld’s forces are able to win a consecutive number of so-called Mortal Kombat tournaments. Should the streak be broken at any time, the process must begin anew. Traditionally, Kahn’s underling Shang Tsung oversees these fixtures, with the former only revealing himself following Tsung’s defeat at the hands of Liu Kang.
That being the case, Kahn could appear in a post-credits scene, especially as his presence is explicitly alluded to in the aforementioned trailer with statues and other iconography (see above). This is all predicated on the grounds that the live-action adaptation does well enough to warrant a follow-up, of course, but considering the huge hype preceding its release, we imagine that’s already all but guaranteed.
Mortal Kombat lands in theaters and on HBO Max starting April 16th.