‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Sets HBO Max Release Date
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Mortal Kombat 2 will begin streaming on HBO Max on July 24 after earning $129 million at the worldwide box office as the sequel to 2021's hit video game adaptation.
- Simon McQuoid returned to direct, reprising his role from the 2021 original that marked his feature directorial debut.
- Karl Urban ("The Boys") joins the franchise as Johnny Cage, a martial arts actor recruited by Raiden and Sonya Blade for an inter-dimensional tournament against the Outworld warriors.
- New cast additions include Adeline Rudolph as Edenian princess Kitana, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Damon Herriman as Quan Chi, Martyn Ford as the tyrannical emperor Shao Kahn, Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel, Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod, and CJ Bloomfield as Baraka.
- Returning cast includes Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Josh Lawson as Kano, and Max Huang as Kung Lao.
- The sequel expands the Earthrealm vs. Outworld conflict, with Earth's fighters uniting against Shao Kahn with the help of Kitana, Kitana's childhood friend Jade, and other Outworld figures.
Why it matters: The sequel earned $129 million worldwide before its July 24 HBO Max debut, giving Warner Bros.' streaming platform a video game franchise exclusive. With Karl Urban joining as Johnny Cage and most of the 2021 cast returning, the film positions Mortal Kombat 2 as a marquee fan-driven draw for HBO Max.
![‘Mortal Kombat II’ Writer Jeremy Slater Explains All Those Fatalities, Resurrecting [SPOILER] for the Third Movie and the ‘Dozens’ of Characters He Wants for Sequels](https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/MCDMOKO_WB099.jpg)
