Warner Bros has given a green signal to the production of the Mortal Kombat sequel. The first entry came out in April last year. It received a simultaneous release in theatres and on the HBO Max streaming platform. And it became the most successful film launch for HBO Max. This record still stands strong. Apart from its streaming feat, the movie collected $83.6 million against its $55 million budget. These figures are considered good amid the extreme COVID restrictions and limited theatrical occupancy in April last year.
The success of the first MK instalment lured the makers to go for its sequel. And why this movie deserves a second part? Let’s find out!
Video game adaptations have suffered severe condemnation and fury from the moviegoers after the arrival of Super Mario Bros in 1993. Critics and fans of the original game butchered the movie at that time. After that, we saw cinematic adaptations of notable gaming series like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, Doom, Hitman, and many more. Yes, some of these entries worked like cash-grab projects for the film studios. But they were very far from being hailed as cinematic masterpieces.
However, the release of Pokemon Detective Pikachu in 2019 gave some much-needed hope to the dying genre. Apart from being a decent box office hit, it became the first-ever certified fresh movie on the Rotten Tomatoes platform. Then, we got Sonic the Hedgehog fused with the iconic charm of Jim Carrey. The successes of these projects have forced the studios to take this genre a bit seriously these days. Maybe that’s why we are getting a Mortal Kombat sequel.
Despite its mixed critical reception, the first MK movie was considered a major improvement over its horrendous predecessors. We don’t even want to mention how horrible Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was. It threw the entire original MK film series under the bus, leaving fans with no alternative but to wait for 22 years to get its rebooted version.
Currently, Mortal Kombat (2019) stands with a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, it is a pretty good rating if we take all the previous video game adaptations into account here. Warner Bros has an amazing chance to do something special with the sophomore instalment of Mortal Kombat. It may even revolutionise the entire genre. Who knows?
We don’t know if Simon McQuoid will return to direct the Mortal Kombat sequel or not. But the latest reports have confirmed that Marvel’s Moon Knight series writer, Jeremy Slater, has been roped in by WB to pen down the screenplay for the forthcoming sequel. We will inform you as soon as the studio releases any official info regarding the sequel’s release date. Stay tuned for more updates.
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