Mortal Kombat 2 will not release sooner than before, new release date revealed

Mortal Kombat 2, the sequel to Mortal Kombat (2021) starring Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, and Tati Gabrielle, among others, was initially scheduled to be released in October 2025. However, the date of release was pushed to May 15, 2026, and the film's trailer mentioned the same date when it was released in July 2025.

Now, as Deadline reports, Mortal Kombat 2's release date has been pushed up to an earlier date, but it's still not as early as fans want it to be. The new release date for the film is May 8, 2026.

Mortal Kombat 2's release date has been moved up

While an official reason was not given for why the studios and creators shifted the release date of Mortal Kombat 2 from October 2025 to May 2026, it is likely because it would be less crowded that time of summer 2026. Viewers are going to be rushing to watch Springsteen Deliver Me From Nowhere and Regretting You, which are both going to be released on October 24, 2025. Mortal Kombat 2 will not get the opportunity to garner as many viewers if it were released right now. Besides, with Halloween around the corner, films might not do too well at the box office at this time.

The release date was first shifted to May 15, 2026, and now, as Deadline reports, it has been shifted to May 8, 2026, which is the Mother's Day weekend. While there isn't an official reason behind this shift either, it was likely chosen to generate maximum revenue. If the film stuck to the May 15, 2026 date, it would have to compete with an untitled Steven Spielberg event film, Is God Is, and Poetic License. On May 8, 2026, the only other film getting released is Sheep Detectives, which has much less box office competition than May 15. Mortal Kombat 2's logline, according to the trailer's description, reads,

From New Line Cinema comes the latest high-stakes installment in the blockbuster video game franchise in all its brutal glory, Mortal Kombat II. This time, the fan favorite champions—now joined by Johnny Cage himself—are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.

Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Sophia Xu as Young Kitana, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Damon Herriman as Quan Chi, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Tadanobu, Asano as Lord Raiden, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han / Noob Saibot, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi or Scorpion, Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn, Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod, Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel, Max Huang as Kung Lao, and CJ Bloomfield as Baraka.

New York Comic Con 2025 - Day 3 - Source: Getty

Mortal Kombat 2 is written by Jeremy Slater, based on the video game Mortal Kombat by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The film is directed by Simon McQuoid, who is also a producer on the film, along with Todd Garner, James Wan, Toby Emmerich, and E. Bennett Walsh. The production companies behind the film are New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster, Broken Road Productions, and Fireside Films. Warner Bros. Pictures will be handling distribution.

Mortal Kombat 2 will be released in theatres on May 8, 2026.