Mortal Kombat II Has Now Been Delayed To May 2026. Here's Why That's Both A Good Thing And A Bad Thing

Fans of end fight fatalities just got hit with some bad news when they learned that the release of the highly anticipated Mortal Kombat II will be delayed into May.

That said, is it actually bad news? As a big fan of the franchise myself, I've actually been mulling over this decision to move the movie into the summer, and I actually think there are some huge positives…as well as some heavy negatives.

So, what's good (and bad) about moving Mortal Kombat II from October of this year to May of next year? Well…

Why It's Bad: Mortal Kombat II Will Now Be Coming Out Closer In Release To The Street Fighter Movie

The Street Fighter reboot is scheduled to come out on October 16th, 2026, and I am so freaking pumped for it! As a big fan of both Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, I’ve had my fair share of debates on which is the better fighting franchise.

However, one benefit that Mortal Kombat II had in coming out this year rather than next was that it was far enough away from the Street Fighter reboot that people didn’t need to have such frivolous arguments. Because you know people are going to be comparing the two movies now that they’re only going to be released six months apart.

Don’t even get me started on whether Mortal Kombat II is bad. It probably won’t be, given the early enthusiasm for test screenings, but just think. If this film isn’t as good as people hope that it is, then that’s going to be a big win for the Street Fighter reboot, as Capcom enthusiasts are going to have even more fuel for the (yoga) fire of why Street Fighter will always be superior to Mortal Kombat…even when it comes to movies.

I mean, I really had to come around on that 2021 Mortal Kombat movie, and if this next film is also kind of middling, then, as much as I don’t want to do it since it’s childish and petty, I’ll likely also be comparing Mortal Kombat II to the Street Fighter reboot. You can take the boy out of the schoolyard, but you can’t always take the schoolyard out of the boy, even when they’re grown-ass adults.

Why It's (Possibly) Good: If The Street Fighter Movie Is Bad, Then MK Will Look Even Better If It's Good

Okay, so let’s flip it. Say Mortal Kombat II is good. I’m talking one of the best video game movies ever made, good. Got that? Okay, now let’s say that the upcoming Street Fighter reboot is bad. I’m not talking the 1994 Street Fighter movie, bad, which some people actually like. I’m talking Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li bad. What then?

Well, I think having Mortal Kombat II so close to the release of Street Fighter could possibly be a good thing then, because it will only make MK look even better if the Street Fighter movie is terrible. Because that’s the thing, right? It almost feels like one of them is destined to be good, and one of them is destined to be bad.

Maybe leave that feeling to video game movies, having such poor track records in the past. Or, the fact that both Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter really haven't had much luck in theaters when it comes to live-action adaptations. Although the first Mortal Kombat movie is beloved, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is heavily mocked (though I find it entertaining), and the 2021 film received mixed reviews.

Street Fighter’s had even less luck, with most people thinking that there’s never been a good SF film. So, if MK II is awesome, and SF is abysmal, then that could be a win for MK, especially with it so close to release for comparison’s sake.

Why It's Bad: Fans Were Pumped For This Movie

Sometimes, making people wait turns out to be a good thing. Like, take the recent game Hollow Knight: Silksong, for example. Fans have been waiting for a Hollow Knight sequel ever since 2019, and now that it’s arrived, excitement is at a fever pitch.

But Silksong is an exception, rather than the rule, and usually, making people wait is a negative, rather than a positive. Now, sources say that Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, and Atomic Monster saw the excitement for the movie following the trailer and thought that it was a better idea to release the film as a summer movie rather than a Fall one, but I fear that might backfire.

Because yeah, people will likely still see MK in May, but all of that excitement might not be as massive a few months down the line. Sure, they could release another trailer closer to the release to drum up excitement again, but will it be as high as it was the last time we saw this trailer and were excited by the possibilities?

Maybe, I don’t know. I wonder if it would have just been better to stick to the original date. I guess only time will tell.

Why It's Good: It Has More Distance From The Relatively Unpopular Game, Mortal Kombat 1

Okay, so this is something that you might not know if you’re only interested in movies rather than video games, but the most recent MK game, Mortal Kombat 1, was not as well-received as it could have been. In fact, even though Street Fighter 6 will continue to get new DLC characters, Mortal Kombat 1 won’t, as NetherRealm will be moving on to other projects.

Which kind of sucks. I mean, yeah, I dropped off of MK 1 a while ago, but I still wish that it had a thriving community, which it apparently doesn’t. And, having a new movie so close to the stink of the last game might not have been a good thing.

Because while most MK fans would have likely still seen the movie in October, there are a still lot of casual players who picked up MK1 who might have been so turned off by their purchase of that game that they wouldn’t even want to see a movie, even if it has nothing to do with the wacky (yes, wacky) storyline presented in Mortal Kombat 1.

I mean, I’m just speculating here, but I really do think that MK as a franchise is kind of hurting right now, and maybe distancing the movie from the last game could be beneficial to the film. Food for thought.

Why It's Bad: May 2026 Already Looks To Have Some Heavy-Hitters

Lastly, do you know what’s coming out in October of this year? The Smashing Machine, Tron: Ares, and Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, amongst a few others. Honestly, I think Mortal Kombat II would have fit in nicely if it had stayed with its October 24th release date. It might have even been the biggest movie of next month.

Now, do you know what’s slated to come out in May 2026? The Devil Wears Prada 2 and The Mandalorian and Grogu. Now, while you might say, totally different audiences, I’m not disagreeing with you. However, with many people choosing to stay home and stream these days rather than rush out to see movies in theaters (See: KPop Demon Hunters), people are often more choosy about what they spend money on in theaters.

Mortal Kombat II might now have competition with one of those two films – especially The Mandalorian and Grogu. And, it wouldn’t have had that issue in October.

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts.