Mortal Kombat 2's Kano Revival Hints At A Major Multiverse Element Of The Sequel Movie

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The confirmation that Kano will be part of Mortal Kombat 2's cast of characters suggests that the film will be introducing some form of world-bending supernatural element. This could be tied to the kind of sorcery that occurs all throughout the series, such as through the dark magical abilities of Shang Tsung. However, there's a chance the source of Kano's revival in Mortal Kombat 2 could be a means to bring the film universe closer in-line with the modern Mortal Kombat games, which have gone full multiversal.

Kano's Mortal Kombat 2 Return Will Expand The Cinematic Universe

Kano's Return In Mortal Kombat 2 Will Have To Avoid Simply Retconning The Original Movie

Mortal Kombat 2 will bring back Kano despite his death in the previous film, which could be key to bringing the films to the game. In Mortal Kombat, the heroes of Earthrealm are located and trained to take part in an upcoming cosmic tournament for the survival of their world. Among the warriors introduced in the first film was the criminal Kano, who was able to unlock his full potential and ultimately threw in with the villainous Shang Tsung. This led to his final battle with Sonya Blade, which ended in his death and her empowerment from his Dragon Mark.

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Mortal Kombat 2's Villain Return Sets Up 3 Big Characters In The Sequel

Joe Taslim has been teased to return for Mortal Kombat 2, and if Bi-Han is in the sequel, this sets up three major characters from Mortal Kombat lore.

Despite this, Josh Lawson has been confirmed to be returning for Mortal Kombat 2 as Kano, which will bring the surviving fighters deeper into conflict against Otherworld. There are multiple ways Kano could factor into the film, many of which would expand the scope of the cinematic Mortal Kombat universe. There could be some time-travel at play, or magical resurrection through the power of characters like Shang Tsung. Kano could have been sent to Netherworld, a hellish plane that has been opened before. This could even be a way to make Mortal Kombat multiversal, directly tying it to the games.

How Mortal Kombat's Multiverse Could Impact The MK Movies

Mortal Kombat 1 Established A Multiverse That The Films Could Embrace

Mortal Kombat 1, the latest entry in the long-running videogame, established an overt multiverse storyline for the franchise. After a climactic battle with Shang Tsung and Kronika in Mortal Kombat 11, Liu Kang gained nearly omnipotent power and reshaped the universe. However, this elevated him and his allies into a new level of conflict, as other empowered fighters from variant realities waged war on one another. This multiversal approach has already allowed for dozens of new stories and unexpected character fusions within the Mortal Kombat games' story.

This kind of reveal in Mortal Kombat 2 could easily justify a new version of Kano appearing in the film, keeping his previous death canon while allowing him to reappear in the film continuity. Fully tying the live-action films to the grander scope of the game's multiverse could be a fun way to continue expanding the live-action version of the franchise, setting up all sorts of potential future directions and characters to focus on.

Plenty Of Multiverses Are Being Used To Bridge Film, TV, And Beyond

Custom image by Simone Ashmoore

In recent years, the multiverse has increasingly been used as a means of expanding franchises and IP beyond singular mediums. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has broadened beyond films to television, and James Gunn's DCU promises to tie together the worlds of film, television and video games to create a singular continuity. This is especially true for other video game adaptations like Arcane and Fallout, which take place in the same universe as their games. Mortal Kombat may be attempting to do something similar, potentially setting up other dimensions where variants of characters like Kano could easily appear.

Mortal Kombat 2 could bring back Kano through the introduction of alternate realities, potentially forcing the heroes of Earthrealm to deal with a more dangerous variant of an enemy they've already beaten. This could open the door for the film universe to fully interact with the games, setting up larger crossovers between different versions of the various characters. It would be a wild escalation of the film's universe, but might be the key to elevating the live-action Mortal Kombat's potential story directions, especially if the films continue beyond Mortal Kombat 2 .

The sequel to the Mortal Kombat 2021 film franchise reboot, Mortal Kombat 2, will follow the original cast and new faces as they prepare for the Mortal Kombat tournament. Cole Young and his allies will continue training and enlisting new warriors to prepare for the contest between Earthrealm and Outworld, which will determine the fate of humanity.

Director Simon McQuoid

Writers Jeremy Slater

Cast Martyn Ford , Desmond Chiam , Ana Thu Nguyen , Damon Herriman , Lewis Tan , Jessica McNamee , Josh Lawson , Tadanobu Asano , Mehcad Brooks , Ludi Lin , Karl Urban , Tati Gabrielle