Here’s a 2025 surprise no one saw coming: Warner Bros.’ Mortal Kombat II, scheduled to release on 24 October 2025, might actually be something truly special. And by special, we don’t just mean better than expected, but possibly one of the best video game movie adaptations of all time kind of special. If you don’t believe us, just ask director Timo Tjahjanto, the mind behind The Night Comes for Us, who confessed on X that he cried watching the sequel to the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie. It’s time to believe the hype!
In a recent post on X, Tjahjanto, the guy who turned Indonesian action cinema into a global phenomenon, doubled down on his hype, saying, “Watching it, I did shed a tear by the ending credits. Nothing beats earnestness & embracing the source material.” Before that, he simply wrote, “Can confirm. MK 2 f**king RULES. Shao Kahn is a goddamn beast. Also some utterly bad ass ladies.” If he’s this moved by a fighting game movie, someone at Warner Bros. might’ve just done the impossible.
But Timo’s not alone in hyping Mortal Kombat II either. Writer-director-editor-VFX-supervisor Stu Willis, who says he worked on the movie during the last four months of post-production, also chimed in: “When I first saw the cut I was blown away by how they nailed the tone. Super hard to get right I reckon. Lots of directors would have done wink wink. But they embraced it.”
That last bit is important. Fans have had enough of irony-soaked, self-aware adaptations that don’t take the source material seriously. What people want, and what Mortal Kombat II sounds like it’s delivering, is a movie that goes all-in on the lore, the violence, and yes, the damn tournament.
While the 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot (which scored a lukewarm 55% on Rotten Tomatoes) flirted with greatness – it had strong fights, cool character intros, and plenty of blood – it avoided the actual tournament. That decision annoyed a lot of long-time fans. But this time, it’s happening. Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon confirmed that the legendary tournament will finally be front and centre, complete with some sort of visual scoreboard that tracks who’s winning.
Mortal Kombat II is shaping up to be one of the few sequels that outdo the original. Others include Top Gun: Maverick, Evil Dead II, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and The Dark Knight.
Could this be the video game adaptation that finally gets it all right?
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