If you’ve been waiting for another Mortal Kombat movie to hit theatres, this is the year! Mortal Kombat 2 will finally be released in cinemas worldwide in 2025, and fans are ecstatic about the prospect of more of their favourite characters joining in on the action. Of course, in this day and age, it’s near impossible to have an anticipated film like this roll out without at least one fan-made AI trailer making the rounds before any of the official ones do. However, the movie’s lead, Lewis Tan, recently took it upon himself to deal a savage KO to the makers of an AI Mortal Kombat video, GenMagnetic.
If you haven’t seen GenMagnetic’s AI-generated Mortal Kombat hype trailer yet, it takes fans through a number of different MK settings before transitioning to flashy sequences of characters that are anticipated to appear in the next movie or who fans hope will be showing up in round 2 of the franchise reboot.
The AI film studio made the video available online in January of this year. And while Tan, perhaps better known as the former MMA champion Cole Young in the movie, may not have seen the video right away, when he did, he didn’t hold back punches reacting to the footage.
Earlier today, the actor responded on X, formerly known as Twitter, with a simple but nonetheless brutal “This disgusts me” message.
Of course, his response prompted several followers to share their thoughts, one of whom said, “I’m so sick and tired of anything created with AI. Especially, this! We can wait for the real trailer. This is uncalled for!”
Meanwhile, another person agreed with Tan, saying, “I agree… Why the hell use AI when we can wait for the actual trailer to release. It will be way better than this.”
Yet, there will always be opposing viewpoints, and some fans have gone as far as defending the video. One fan commented on the video’s impressiveness, saying, “So… I actually think it’s pretty cool I will not lie. However, it’s definitely not something that was needed.”
While another decided to take a jab at the actor, saying: “Sorry mate you’re just not a memorable enough character for anyone to put you in ANY passion project fan-made or AI you cant speak like u got the franchise on your back. you made an overrated cameo in a sub par MK reboot.”
Though opinions on the AI-generated Mortal Kombat fan project vary greatly, it should demonstrate the growing disdain for the use of AI, particularly in these kinds of fan-made trailers.
AI teasers and gameplay videos have been popping up far more frequently on social media than ever before, much to the frustration of many fans. You can’t scroll through your feed without being duped by a clip of what looks to be authentic footage from a highly anticipated film or video game—just consider the recent Raptor Johansson video clip that led some to believe Scar Jo would be a human/velociraptor hybrid in Jurassic World: Rebirth as an example.
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With this in mind, it isn’t too surprising to see Lewis Tan reacting so strongly to one phoney AI Mortal Kombat video making its rounds online. But, in the same breath, it’s hard to blame fans for welling up with excitement to create footage honouring their favourite franchises. As questionable as these AI-generated videos can be, they tap into the deep desires of fans to share in the anticipation and excitement surrounding upcoming releases.
At least one thing we can agree on is the anticipation and excitement for Mortal Kombat 2 coming to screens on 24 October 2025.
RELATED: Why Cole Young Is the Best Part of 2021’s Mortal Kombat
Do you agree with Lewis Tan’s take on the Mortal Kombat AI fan trailer?
