Cole may have been the weakest of the characters in the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie as Cole Young, a washed-up MMA fighter who is pulled into the centuries-long battle to defend Earthrealm from Shang Tsung and the evil forces of Outworld. While the reboot is appreciated for staying faithful to the gory nature of the video games, the decision to center the story on Cole, a completely original character, was met with a generally negative reception due to his bland nature.
Alongside Cole, the roster of Earthrealm fighters in the 2021 movie features many fan favorites from the Mortal Kombat video games, including Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Kano (Josh Lawson), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), and Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada). Despite the dislike of Cole as the main character, audiences enjoyed the overall merits of the reboot, leading Warner Bros. to ordering Mortal Kombat 2 with The Umbrella Academy and Moon Knight's Jeremy Slater writing the script and previous director Simon McQuoid returning to helm the sequel.
As development continues on the sequel, many are left to wonder which previous characters could return for Mortal Kombat 2, as well as which ones should be absent. Cole Young remains the target of much disappointment from audiences, with many believing he should be entirely replaced by Scorpion going into the next movie. Given his importance in the first installment, though, it seems all but impossible to completely write out the main character. That doesn't mean there isn't an easy way for Mortal Kombat 2 to improve Cole Young's story by utilizing what was already set up in the first movie.
Why Mortal Kombat 2 Must Improve Cole's Story
The biggest issue with Cole in the first Mortal Kombat movie stemmed from a lack of emotional connection to the character, as the former MMA fighter largely meandered through the story while the other fighters attained their iconic powers from the games. Even when Cole did finally tap into his arcana, his abilities amounted to nothing more than a suit of armor he has minor control of, giving him literal plot armor to survive until the final confrontation between him and Sub-Zero. Cole nearly didn't even win the fight, with his blood being used to resurrect Scorpion and the two having to team up to bring down the Lin Kuei assassin.
If Cole is still going to be the main protagonist in Mortal Kombat 2, fixing the first movie's problems should involve his past as an MMA fighter and his connection with his wife and daughter. Though the latter were included in the prior Mortal Kombat, they felt largely shoehorned in to motivate Cole in his fight to defend Earthrealm, rather than acting as their own characters, while the former felt like it had no major relevance to his story. By properly diving into Cole's past, namely why he's no longer a professional fighter, and bond with his family, audiences can properly find emotional stakes in the character and care about his potential demise in the story.
Though not confirmed to be returning yet, it's likely Cole will be back for Mortal Kombat 2, but with Slater assuring the creative team is listening to fan , one can hope they learn the lessons from the first movie's Cole issues to improve the character. Given that the sequel is expected to introduce Johnny Cage to the roster, and many are keeping their fingers crossed for a Scorpion return, there are multiple doors open for Cole to properly get into his past when Mortal Kombat 2 hits the big screen.
