Mortal Kombat 2 stars on Kitana and Jade's "sisterhood" and making the deadly duo "more relatable"

If you thought Mortal Kombat was just about colorful characters butchering each other in all manner of bloody and brutal ways, think again. Mortal Kombat 2 features a drastically different take on fan-favorite characters Kitana and Jade, with the former the revenge-fuelled beating heart of the blockbuster sequel.

Though a follow-up to 2021's Mortal Kombat, with many returning cast members, Mortal Kombat 2 is something of a creative reset for the series (one star even considers the first film a "prequel" to the main event), with Adeline Rudolph's Kitana at the center of the fight for supremacy between the champions of Earthrealm and Shao Khan's Netherealm. Best known for wielding razor-sharp fans, Kitana is the tyrannical Shao Khan's adopted daughter. But Kitana has no love for the man who murdered her father, and secretly plots to take him down.

For Rudoloph, who has form with live-action video game adaptations, having previously appeared in Netflix's Resident Evil, bringing Kitana to the screen involved much more than martial arts training. "Besides putting in the groundwork of exploring the lore and then marrying that with the script version of Kitana, really just approaching her from a very human standpoint and a more grounded standpoint was important to me, Rudolph tells GamesRadar+. "That's what I was trying to bring to her. Especially in regards also to her relationship to Jade and the underlying sisterhood that they have."

Jade has been Kitana's protector for 20 years when we catch up with them in Mortal Kombat 2. And while Jade is still loyal to Shao Khan out of fear and duty, their connection causes Jade to question the cause she has dedicated her life to. "This is the first time since the '90s versions of the films that we've seen these two characters [on screen], and our creative team have built a really epic but yet still very grounded world," says Gabrielle, who previously starred with Rudolph as sisters in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. "So it's like 'How do we make Jade and Kitana fit into that while still giving the fans what they want of these characters?' But making them more relatable, making them easier to connect to."

'Connecting' is the name of the game in Mortal Kombat 2: connecting kicks to heads, staffs to sternums. For Gabrielle – a black belt with a martial arts background – the no-punches-pulled action was a major part of the appeal. But one fight in particular from the film stands out. "The Blue Portal… that's one of our favorite fights in the whole movie," Gabrielle says with a grin. Set in a stage which will be familiar to players, the fight sees Liu Kang and a revenant Kung Lao go toe-to-toe, to the death.

"It looks epic. It's got some really epic moves in there that fans are going to be really excited about. But, truthfully, every fight has a fatality that's sprinkled into it that fans can pick up on depending on who their favorite characters were growing up."

Mortal Kombat 2 releases in theaters on May 8. For more, check out our list of upcoming video game movies or our full list of upcoming movie releases.