Spoilers ahead for Mortal Kombat II.
While movies based off of video games have had a checkered past historically, some of the best video games arrived over the past few years. Simon McQuoid's 2021 Mortal Kombat (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription) is definitely on that list. The sequel is in theaters now, and brought back dead characters such as Kung Lao. And Liu Kang actor Ludi Lin spoke to me about his fight scene with the revived fighter, including that absolutely gnarly fatality.
The Mortal Kombat movies' R rating allowed for video game accurate violence, including some nauseating fatalities. Arguably the most iconic one in the first film was Kung Lao using his signature hat to cut Nitara in half, and it came back with more emotional stakes in Mortal Kombat II when Liu Kang fought a Revenant version of Kung Lao. As you can see in the video above, I asked Lin about bringing that moment to life, where he told me:
I think we had so many discussions around that. Because I mean, if you look at that fatality, there's a lot in it, especially how it recalls to Kung Lao’s fatality in the first movie. Do you know what I mean? And that was the fatality that every single person remembered. So in the second movie, I think the whole point was we had so much feedback from the first movie and we wanted to give the audience what they wanted.
Mortal Kombat's fatalities are iconic, and McQuoid has brought some really grisly ones to life in his pair of movies. And when Max Huang's Kung Lao returned in the sequel as an undead Revenant, it opened the door for another character to be killed by his razor-rimmed hat. Although the second time around was especially emotional, with Liu Kang forced to fight his brother in the tournament.
The stakes were high when Liu Kang and Kung Lao reunited in Mortal Kombat II, as it was Earthrealm's last time to save itself from Outworld. Liu Kang was forced to kill his brother figure with his own weapon, while vowing to bring him back to the light. Later in our same conversation Ludi Lin spoke about the process of crafting this plot twist, telling me:
Also, we wanted to add another level of surprise. You can't just hand feed the audience. And I think that's how it came about. It's the perfect twist and it's heartbreaking. The first movie for me it feels like a bromance between, Liu Kang and how they were together anyway. And the second movie it's heartbreaking, it's a breakup. It's a breakup story.
He's not wrong. It was heartbreaking seeing Liu Kang have to kill Kung Lao... even if it wasn't the real version of him. By the movie's ending, Lin's character also sacrificed himself, vowing to bring back those that Earthrealm had lost. Hopefully a third movie is green lit and we get to see this story play out on the big screen.
Mortal Kombat II is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. It didn't beat The Devil Wears Prada 2 at the box office, but hopefully it makes enough that we get a third film.
