Sequel to 2021’s Mortal Kombat in development from Moon Knight scriptwriter Jeremy Slater

Mortal Kombat is gearing up to return to screens to ward off evil yet again using the power of ancient martial arts. It was announced that a sequel to the 2021 film is in the works at Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema.

According to a report in Deadline, Moon Knight scriptwriter Jeremy Slater has been roped in to penn the sequel’s script. In addition to his work on the upcoming Marvel series, which stars Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke, and the late Gaspard Ulliel, Slater has also worked on Uprising and The Umbrella Academy.

The upcoming film will be the latest instalment in the film series based on the popular Mortal Kombat martial arts video games that debuted in 1992.

The first film based on the games hit the silver sceen in 1995 and featured Linden Ashby, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Robin Shou and Bridgette Wilson in starring roles. Although subject to mixed reviews, the film went on to become widely popular with fans and became a cult classic.

The 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, however was critically and commercially unsuccessful leading to cancelation of plans to include another instalment in the franchise.

The 2021 Mortal Kombat film was a reboot of the original film series. Like its predecessors, it revolved around the story of the eponymous martial arts tournament between the realms of the Earth and the Outworld. When the Earth is on the brink of being defeated and conquered by the latter, a group of heroes arise to win the tournament and save the realm.

In conversation with Variety, the film’s director Simon McQuoid had expressed his interest in turning the new film into a franchise as well, saying ultimately it was ‘for the fans to decide’.