Who makes up the known roster of Earthrealm's defenders in the Mortal Kombat finally returned for a movie with the franchise's eponymous reboot. As part of Warner Bros. release strategy for their 2021 slate in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mortal Kombat also debuted same-day on HBO Max, where it drew huge viewership numbers.
Mortal Kombat's basic story focuses on human fighters from Earthrealm competing against the realm of Outworld in the martial arts tournament known as Mortal Kombat to save Earthrealm from invasion. The 2021 Mortal Kombat movie adopted this basic concept, but focused primarily on Earthrealm's chosen warriors training for the coming tournament. The treachery of the villainous Shang Tsung (Chin Han) in trying to kill off Earthrealm's fighters before the tournament led them to finally force Outworld's warriors to face them on their own turf in the final showdown of the movie.
Following Mortal Kombat's ending, the real tournament is set up to feature significantly in Mortal Kombat 2 in a script coming from Jeremy Slater. The film also concludes with a complete roster of Earthrealm defenders assembled, along with one major tease for who could them. Here's who makes up Earthrealm's champions for Mortal Kombat 2, along with some other possibilities for who else might them in the sequel.
Cole Young
As the central character of Mortal Kombat's 2021 movie, Cole Young is one of Earthrealm's warriors who can be expected to return for Mortal Kombat 2. Introduced in Mortal Kombat as a small-time MMA fighter, Cole is summoned to the fighters for Earthrealm being assembled by Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) for the Mortal Kombat tournament. Cole also learns he is a descendent of Hanzo Hasashi a.k.a. Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), and after unlocking his "arcana" of tonfas and a golden armor suit, Cole Young fights alongside his ancestor against Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) in the movie's final fight and emerges victorious.
Liu Kang
One of Earthrealm's long-chosen warriors and effectively the lead protagonist of the Mortal Kombat franchise, Liu Kang is a Shaolin monk and Mortal Kombat champion who helps train Cole, Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), and Kano (Josh Lawson) for the tournament. After the death of Kung Lao (Max Huang), Liu Kang avenges his cousin and Shaolin brother in the finale in his fight with Kabal (Daniel Nelson). At the end of the movie, Liu Kang stands as one of Earthrealm's warriors for their next battle with Shang Tsung (Chin Han).
Raiden
The God of Lightning, Lord Raiden is Earthrealm's supernatural protector against the aggression of Outworld. As in the games, Mortal Kombat shows Raiden selecting Earthrealm's chosen fighters, with the prologue showing Raiden rescuing the child of Scorpion (and ancestor of Cole Young) after he and his wife are killed by Sub-Zero. After the defeat of Shang Tsung's fighters in the final battle of Mortal Kombat, Raiden sends his chosen warriors out into the world to recruit more fighters to defend Earthrealm from the coming conflict with Outworld.
Sonya Blade
Special Forces soldier Sonya Blade is well-known as one of the toughest Earthrealm fighters on the Mortal Kombat roster. In the big-screen reboot of Mortal Kombat, Sonya Blade helps fill Cole Young in on aspects of Outworld and the Mortal Kombat tournament, with Sonya, Cole, and Kano traveling to Raiden's temple to prepare to defend Earthrealm. After Kano defects to Outworld's side, Sonya fights and kills Kano in the movie's climactic battle of Earthrealm and Outworld fighters, with his dragon mark transferring to Sonya and allowing her to unlock her arcana to shoot blasts of purple energy. This will definitely come in handy for Sonya when she returns in Mortal Kombat 2.
Jax
Sonya's Special Forces partner Jackson Briggs (Mehcad Brooks), or Jax as he's nicknamed, helps save Cole and his family from Sub-Zero's attack, but ultimately loses both of his arms in the process. At Raiden's temple, Jax is outfitted with a set of bionic arms, and after unlocking his arcana, his arms are reinforced to the fully mechanized fighting tools fans know and love from the Mortal Kombat games. With his cyber-arms upgraded, Jax defeats Reiko (Nathan Jones) in Earthrealm's final showdown with Outworld, and he remains alongside Raiden's chosen warriors to stand against Shang Tsung and Outworld in Mortal Kombat 2.
Johnny Cage
Hollywood action star Johnny Cage is widely known as the most jovial and joke-prone of Earthrealm's defenders in the Mortal Kombat franchise, and his skills as a martial artist make him a strong ally in fighting Outworld in the Mortal Kombat tournament. Though Johnny does not appear in the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie, he is teased for Mortal Kombat 2 at the end of the movie, with Cole heading to Hollywood to recruit him and a poster for the Johnny Cage action movie "Citizen Cage" shown on the wall of Cole's MMA gym. With Johnny having been officially confirmed for Mortal Kombat 2, it remains unknown who will play him, though among the names suggested for the casting of Johnny Cage, Scott Adkins, Alain Moussi, and Ryan Reynolds have been prominently mentioned by fans.
Who Could Earthrealm's Fighters in Mortal Kombat 2?
While numerous warriors for Earthrealm can be expected to return for Mortal Kombat 2, some others might also make their debut. One strong candidate is the second Sub-Zero, Kuai Liang, as a possible fighter for Earthrealm (along with Joe Taslim's Bi-Han transitioning from Sub-Zero to Noob-Saibot in his alliance with Outworld). With Mileena (Sisi Stringer) having appeared in Mortal Kombat, that also opens the possibility of Princess Kitana ing the Earthrealm team for Mortal Kombat 2, though Sonya's defeat of Mileena means their rivalry will likely be unseen barring her resurrection. By the same token, while Kung Lao had his soul stolen by Shang Tsung, there's also the theoretical possibility of him being revived and returning to fight for Earthrealm, too.
Additionally, Hanzo Hasashi could also come back in a more significant role in Mortal Kombat 2, with Scorpion possibly even mentoring Cole. Moreover, Sonya's notes on the history of Mortal Kombat include a sketch of Nightwolf, which could set him up to appear in Mortal Kombat 2. With such a vast pantheon of Mortal Kombat characters to draw from, Mortal Kombat 2 could is sure to increase its ensemble for the next battle of Earthrealm. However, it seems likely that the confirmed returning and debuting cast along with some of the potential characters connected to others in the reboot will make up Earthrealms champions in Mortal Kombat 2.
