Mortal Kombat Sequel Is Happening, Moon Knight Writer To Script The Fatalities
"Get over here!" Warner Bros. commanded, and many "Mortal Kombat" fans obliged, either by streaming the studio's movie reboot of the video game fighting franchise or watching it in theaters. Despite mixed reviews, the R-rated martial arts fantasy adventure was a success by the standards of the pandemic, grossing $84 million at the box office and becoming one of HBO Max's most streamed titles in 2021. And although it was later confirmed that Warner Bros. was "looking to develop other installments in its 'Mortal Kombat' universe," we've only just learned who's on scripting duties for the sequel.
According to Deadline, the studio has hired Jeremy Slater to pen the next "Mortal Kombat" movie. Slater is coming off his stint as head writer on Marvel Studios' "Moon Knight" series, which will begin streaming on Disney+ in March. He's also in the early stages of gearing up for his directorial debut on Sony's "Thread," a film that's described as "'Back to The Future' meets 'Aliens'" and is being backed by "Mortal Kombat" producer James Wan via his Atomic Monster shingle.
A Champion on the Rise
Slater is quickly establishing himself as one of the go-to writers for quality genre fare. After earning early writing credits on not-so-beloved films like director Josh Trank's "Fantastic Four" and Adam Wingard's live-action "Death Note," Slater broke through by creating "The Exorcist," a critically acclaimed TV series based on the supernatural horror franchise that, sadly, only ran for two seasons. He also developed the well-received comic book adaptation "The Umbrella Academy," which will debut its third season later this year, as well as the upcoming vampire-thriller "Uprising" from "Bumblebee" director Travis Knight and the film version of Stephen King's sci-fi horror novel "The Tommyknockers" that Wan is producing for Universal.
Assuming "Moon Knight" turns out well (its trailer is certainly intriguing), Slater's career ought to be going stronger than ever by the time the "Mortal Kombat" sequel is ready. With the reboot having gotten all the tedious origin story business out-of-the-way, that should free up the next film to dive into the, you know, actual Mortal Kombat tournament. One only hopes the sequel will also be a step-up in terms of the actual fighting. As /Film's Chris Evangelista pointed out in his review, the problem wasn't the "international cast" (some of whom are already signed on for multiple sequels), it was that too many of the one-on-one battles in "Mortal Kombat" were "filmed in extreme close-ups that render the action incomprehensible." That's no way to achieve a flawless victory.
The "Mortal Kombat" sequel is still in the early stages of development and has yet to receive a release date.