Following his success with the first film, Simon McQuoid is officially returning to direct origin story of Cole Young, a character created specifically for the film, as he learns of his hidden heritage as the descendant of the ninja Hanzo Hasashi, aka Scorpion, and his destiny to defend Earthrealm from the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung and his forces of Outworld.
Lewis Tan led the cast of Mortal Kombat as Cole alongside Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Max Huang as Kung Lao, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han/Sub-Zero and Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion. McQuoid helmed the first Mortal Kombat on a script from Greg Russo and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' Dave Callaham, based on a story treatment from Russo and Oren Uziel. Hitting theaters and HBO Max simultaneously in early 2021, Mortal Kombat received more favorable reviews than Paul W.S. Anderson's 1995 film and was a modest commercial success, grossing over $84 million against its $55 million production budget, while also becoming a hit for HBO Max.
Six months after Moon Knight creator Jeremy Slater was brought on board to write the script, Deadline has brought word that Warner Bros. has tapped Simon McQuoid to direct Mortal Kombat 2. The Australian filmmaker made his directorial debut on the first movie adaptation of the fighting video game, which was a box office and viewing hit. Sources report that executives were not only quick to put the sequel in development, but also made getting McQuoid back to direct a priority.
Given the first Mortal Kombat movie was criticized for its screenplay and characters, the confirmation that McQuoid will be returning to direct Mortal Kombat 2 with a new script from Moon Knight creator Jeremy Slater should come as a positive sign for those that enjoyed the 2021 reboot. Praise was generally directed from critics and audiences alike towards the film's direction, visual effects and action sequences, all of which were hailed for mostly retaining the fast-paced and bloody nature of the source video games. It should also come as a promising sign that sources report McQuoid's return was a major priority for Warner Bros. in developing Mortal Kombat 2, leaving fans of the first film more hopeful than with the sequel to Paul W.S. Anderson's 1995 Mortal Kombat, Annihilation, which saw John R. Leonetti take the helm, much of its cast replaced and critics and audiences alike tearing it apart.
With McQuoid now set to return to direct Mortal Kombat 2 and Slater having already been at work on the script for six months, the studio seems to be close to beginning production on the sequel. What will be interesting to see is how much of the original cast are brought back for Mortal Kombat 2, which many characters killed off in the first film, only for Chin Han's Shang Tsung hint that death would only be the beginning for the enemies, and with the games frequently bringing characters back to life, it seems possible the entire roster of stars could return. While audiences await further details on the sequel, they can stream McQuoid's first Mortal Kombat movie streaming on HBO Max now.
Source: Deadline
