The first Mortal Kombat movie was a surprisingly big hit for Warner Bros., especially considering it came out during the pandemic. Released on HBO Max and in theaters in April 2021, it broke streaming records and earned $84.4 million worldwide on a budget of just $55 million. Because of this success, Warner Bros. quickly approved a sequel, set to release in May 2026. They’re so confident in the franchise that they’ve already started working on a third Mortal Kombat movie, planning out the story well before the second one even comes out.
Exciting news for fans of the Mortal Kombat films! Writer Jeremy Slater recently shared a photo of the completed script for Mortal Kombat 3, suggesting the third movie will enter production much sooner than the five-year wait between the first two films. Interestingly, a detail on the script’s cover could hint at a potentially controversial direction for the series.
Is the Third Mortal Kombat Movie Ditching the Tournament Again?
The script cover shared by Slater features the iconic logo from the 1995 video game Mortal Kombat 3, hinting that the new movie will closely follow the story of that game. Unlike previous installments focused on a martial arts tournament, Mortal Kombat 3 centers on a full-scale invasion. The evil emperor Shao Kahn uses a magical loophole to resurrect Queen Sindel and forcibly combine Outworld with Earthrealm. By using this logo, the filmmakers are indicating that the movie will depict a large-scale planetary war where the heroes must fight for survival against a relentless enemy, rather than compete in a traditional tournament governed by the Elder Gods.
Although it’s good that the filmmakers want to stay true to the original story’s timeline, immediately launching into another invasion storyline would create problems for the movie series. The first Mortal Kombat film in 2021 skipped the traditional tournament format and instead showed Outworld assassins attacking Earth’s warriors beforehand. Fans didn’t like this change, as they felt it removed the core element that defines Mortal Kombat. The next film, Mortal Kombat 2, aims to fix that by finally giving audiences the tournament they expected. So, going back to a non-tournament story so quickly in the third film would likely upset many viewers.
Mortal Kombat 2 is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 8, 2026.
Are you hoping the new Mortal Kombat movie will show Earthrealm being invaded like in the games, or would you prefer it focus on the fighting tournament like Mortal Kombat III? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!
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2026-03-03 16:10