Mortal Kombat 3 Faces The Same Problem As The Biggest Marvel Movies – SlashFilm

This article contains major spoilers for “Mortal Kombat II.”

After a five-year wait, “Mortal Kombat II” is finally upon us. Director Simon McQuoid delivered on the promise of actually giving us a tournament for the fate of the realms, which was notably absent from the 2021 adaptation of the beloved video game franchise. Naturally, given that this is a very popular franchise beyond the silver screen, Warner Bros. hopes to extend it beyond a single sequel.

Yes, “Mortal Kombat II” does set up a third movie in the franchise. And not just by vaguely leaving the door open for a theoretical continuation because enough characters are still alive to justify such a thing. Rather, the ending of “MK2” pretty explicitly sets the stage for what “Mortal Kombat 3” would be, with Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) and the rest of the gang heading to the Netherrealm to literally save their friends from death. We’re kind of looking at “Mortal Kombat in Hell.”

On paper, that sounds like a great deal of fun and by no means out of bounds for this franchise. The lore, both in the games and in the movies, thus far, is pretty out there. A lot of the best “Mortal Kombat” characters of all time are presently dead in the universe these movies occupy. Hence, the trip to the Netherrealm to save them. The problem? If this mission is even remotely successful, the cast for the third movie is going to be downright unruly.

Without knowing the specific plans for “MK3,” there’s already a ton of cast members to contend with. Reviving the likes of Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Jax (Mechad Brooks), Cole Young (Lewis Tan), and more will make the affair even more overstuffed, not unlike the biggest Marvel movies of the last decade.

Almost exactly 10 years ago, “Captain America: Civil War” changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe forever. It was almost like “Avengers 2.5” with tons of characters from elsewhere in the MCU joining in on the action, while also introducing audiences to Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland). The fact that it came together as well as it all did is nothing shy of a miracle and a credit to what directors Joe and Anthony Russo are able to juggle within that particular sandbox.

The Russo brothers would again prove their ability to juggle an even larger cast in both “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Again, absolute masterworks of blockbuster entertainment that somehow spin oh-so-many plates surprisingly well. “Avengers: Endgame” was a record-shattering box office smash hit that briefly became the biggest movie of all time.

There’s a reason why those movies feel so downright special. For one, movies with too many characters tend to leave many characters feeling underserved. For another, fans of the MCU had gotten to know these characters in solo movies before the crossovers.

All of this to say, “Mortal Kombat 3” will be facing a bit of an uphill battle in terms of balancing all of these various characters within a two-hour (give or take) runtime. Karl Urban’s introduction as Johnny Cage in this movie was already pretty truncated. Warner Bros. would undoubtedly introduce new characters in the third movie, in addition to reviving some of the currently dead ones. That’s a lot to manage.

Even setting the whole balancing act aside for a second, there is another issue to consider. At a certain point, people wondered, “Does death even matter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?” So many character deaths were fake-outs, and many deaths have been reversed. That can make the stakes feel small at times. “Mortal Kombat 3” could run up against that as well if they truly revive many of the dead characters. The stakes get smaller.

What we know for sure is that movies have managed to incorporate many characters and make it work in the past, particularly in the MCU. Others have tried and failed. It really all comes down to the script and the director being able to wrangle all of the many, many moving parts. This is, it’s worth noting, to say absolutely nothing of budget issues that can arise from having to pay out so much in cast salaries. That’s a big reason why “Fast X” was one of the most expensive movies of all time.

That’s not to say this franchise is at risk of going full late-stage “Fast and Furious” in that regard, but it’s a consideration. The “Mortal Kombat” universe is overflowing with characters fans would like to see on screen. Reptile, Cyrax, and Shinnok still haven’t been on screen in these movies, just to name a few. The next installment has the chance to bring some of them into the fold. 

The question is, can the presumed sequel avoid becoming too big for its own good? Time will tell, but it’s something worth thinking about.

“Mortal Kombat II” is in theaters now.