‘Mortal Kombat’ star hopes a scene-stealing fan favorite returns for the sequel

For a game series titled Mortal Kombat, it’s rather curious that its colorful, gore-happy cast of characters seem to be anything but; indeed, ever since the storied fighting game franchise started having cinematic narratives as part of its campaign modes, we’ve seen many a kombatant face a gruesome end, only to pop up again in the following canon.

So there’s no reason to suggest that Mortal Kombat‘s rebooted film adaptations won’t follow a similar pattern regarding death; after all, even 1997’s abysmal Mortal Kombat: Annihilation couldn’t kill off the franchise from the big screen (although two decades of development hell cuts it pretty close).

And one Mortal Kombat veteran remains especially hopeful for the return of one kombatant who departed from the realm of the living in last year’s film, and, generously, it’s not her own character.

In an interview with Screen Rant, Jessica McNamee, who portrayed leading heroine Sonya Blade in 2021’s Mortal Kombat, revealed that she’s keeping her fingers crossed for the return of Josh Lawson’s Kano, a treacherous mercenary whose screen presence was to die for.

I would be lying if I didn’t say I’d miss having Josh Lawson back [as] Kano. I love that guy, and I love working with him. The great thing about Mortal Kombat is that they can kill people whenever they want, and they can also bring them back whenever they want. So, hopefully, they bring him back.

Sonya Blade was the one who dealt the fatal blow to Kano in the previous film, so if death does end up carrying over from sequel to sequel, it looks like McNamee won’t have anyone to blame but herself.

Even if Kano is gone forever, though, the sequel won’t be lacking weight screen presence; protagonist Cole went off in search of Johnny Cage at the end of the first film, so there’s a good-to-fair chance that the movie star will be showing up in the sequel, and that character is bound to be bursting with charisma if done right.

The sequel to Mortal Kombat does not yet have a release date, although it has been confirmed that director Simon McQuoid will return to direct.