As of yesterday, Deadline reports that Mortal Kombat (2021) director Simon McQuoid will return for the sequel.
The outlet’s sources state that following the immense success of last year’s film, bringing McQuoid back into the director’s seat became a top priority. Although the director began his career by directing commercials, his award-winning work for Xbox, PlayStation, Call of Duty and Halo 3 made him a prime pick to direct a video game adaptation. As a result, his feature film debut with Mortal Kombat led to great commercial success for Warner Bros. and subsidiary New Line Cinema.
What we know about Mortal Kombat 2 so far
Although the original film’s director will return for the sequel, writer Greg Russo will not come back. Instead, Warner Bros. announced in January that Moon Knight screenwriter Jeremy Slater will pen the script for Mortal Kombat 2. Although the new movie, currently in pre-production, has few details released, Slater teased fans in May about its direction.
This is Mortal Kombat. We have guys who are ripping off their faces and breathing fire—it’s a weird universe. Let’s embrace some of that weirdness, and let’s make a Mortal Kombat sequel that no one is expecting and that can kind of sneak in and blow everyone away.
Jeremy Slater
For now, it’s unclear what exactly fans can expect from Mortal Kombat 2. Story details, including the introduction of new characters, are all kept under wraps. However, if Slater writes fan-favorite Johnny Cage into the plot, WWE Superstar The Miz still has his eyes on that role.
While the first film was an entertaining ride that captured much of what makes the games work so well, it wasn’t without its flaws. Fortunately, it appears the higher-ups heard both the compliments and the critiques, as Slater explains his writing process.
‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work as well as we hoped.’ So we’re really looking at this as a chance to take everything that worked in the first one, and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.
Jeremy Slater
Did you enjoy last year’s Mortal Kombat movie? And how do you think Simon McQuoid’s direction will fare alongside a new writer? As always, we’d love to hear what you think in the comments!
Via Deadline
