Mortal Kombat 2 gets a big release date delay, but ends up in a promising spot

The next Mortal Kombat match is being shuffled around in Warner Bros.' calendar after Deadline confirmed that the upcoming sequel has been moved all the way into summer next year. Initially scheduled for release on October 24, 2025, Mortal Kombat 2 will now be charging up to go into battle on May 15, 2026. It might not be the news fans would be happy to hear, especially given that it means a further delay for the meeting with Karl Urban's take on Johnny Cage. However, the new scheduled spot might suggest we could be in for a bigger hit than expected.

The new film will now be released after the heat has hopefully died down from The Devil Wears Prada 2 (May 1) and before Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his adorable pal take to the big screen in The Mandalorian & Grogu (May 22). It looks like a safe summer spot and one that could benefit the film, which has already been hyped up thanks to the recent trailer that showcased the video game franchise's signature fatalities, and Urban fitting into a role he seems a perfect fit for. After spending so much time as Billy Butcher in Amazon's sweary superhero show, The Boys, Mortal Kombat 2 sees him cutting loose as the failed action star turned champion of Earth, and the man himself has had some promising words to say about it all.

Discussing the film back in July, Urban praised the second round of the franchise, saying, "I think Mortal Kombat II is to Mortal Kombat what The Road Warrior is to Mad Max. I think that everybody across the board has leveled up in a significant way right across the entire production." Urban added, "And I think this representation of this world and these characters is the best we've seen. And I'm super excited for an audience to see it. As you've seen from the trailer itself … it looks like a significant level-up."

Joining Urban in the cinematic scrap will be Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada. Expect some grisly-looking losses and at least one person being told to "get over here" when the film arrives next year. If you want to load up something while you wait, take a look at our list of the best video game movies of all time here.