While Warner Bros. will surely be waiting to see how Mortal Kombat performs at the box office before moving ahead on any sequels, it would seem as if members of the film’s crew are quietly confident that the reboot will succeed in resurrecting NetherRealm’s long-running IP on the big screen. Speaking to CBR in a recent interview, co-writer Greg Russo revealed how, even from the start, he was envisioning the story as a three-part saga as condensing the series’ entire mythology into a single two-hour movie simply wouldn’t have been practical.
In one of many interesting revelations, Russo says he never told anyone else that his screenplay was being penned with a trilogy in mind, and explains the decision as one that all creative writers should adhere to. “Just as a writer, you never want to paint yourself into a corner or shutdown where your storyline could go,” he says, adding: “When I was writing the first film, I was always, in the back of my mind, outlining two more so I always knew where things could go.”
It’s due, at least in part, to this forward planning that well known characters such as Johnny Cage and Sindel were excluded from the first installment, as they were either too similar to others in terms of personality, or demanded more screen time than was possible to establish their origins and history. One sequel, Russo teases, could move away from the familiarity of Earthrealm and take place mostly in Edenia, the home of Princess Kitana (also confirmed to not be appearing) and her aforementioned mother.
In an ideal world, this would lead to a more natural introduction and gradual exploration of the wider fictional universe and give every iconic combatant their time to shine, so to speak. Whether this all comes to fruition is another matter entirely, of course, though with just days to go until Mortal Kombat arrives in theaters and on HBO Max, it shouldn’t be long until a verdict on the franchise’s future is reached.