The return of Mortal Kombat to the realm of cinema may have gotten off to a rocky start as far as reviews go, but anyone who’s already seen this year’s reboot will undoubtedly agree with the view that the franchise is brimming with potential.
Director Simon McQuoid’s feature-length debut unquestionably has noticeable pacing and storytelling issues, but redeems itself (somewhat, at least) with several excellent casting options. Joe Taslim and Hiroyuki Sanada as Sub-Zero and Scorpion respectively absolutely steal the show despite their relatively brief screen time and fans can expect to see a whole lot more of both should Warner Bros. give a sequel the go-ahead. Taslim has confirmed via previous interviews, of course, that he’s contracted to appear in numerous installments, but how exactly would that be possible in the context of how the first film concludes?
Well, the answer is simple: death rarely means the end in NetherRealm’s universe.
Sub-Zero, real name Bi-Han, succumbs to the combined might of Scorpion and Cole Young at the conclusion of Mortal Kombat, with Shang Tsung, bested by Earthrealm’s warriors, shown retrieving his corpse before retreating back to Outworld. In the original continuity, Bi-Han, after being killed by Scorpion, barters his soul with sorcerer Quan Chi for a second chance at life and is subsequently reborn as Noob Saibot. The mantle of Sub-Zero, on the other hand, is adopted by Han’s younger brother, Kuai Liang, who seeks to enact revenge on his sibling’s killer.
That being the case, then, future appearances by Taslim will almost certainly be as Noob Saibot, and given the character’s massive popularity, it’s likely he’ll once again be a core part of the story.
Mortal Kombat is available now in theaters and on HBO Max. See here for WGTC’s review.