It's a good time for gamers who are also cinephiles, because the best video game movies have arrived over the past few years. Case in point: Simon McQuoid's pair of Mortal Kombat movies (which are streaming with a HBO Max subscription). Fans were shook when Lewis Tan's Cole Young was killed off early despite being the protagonist of the first movie, and the actor has spoken about his possible future in the R-rated franchise.
Mortal Kombat II's trailer had some fans nervous about Cole, given how limited his screen time was. And indeed, he was the first hero to be the victim of a fatality during his battle with Martyn Ford's Shao Khan. During an interview with Vulture, Tan was asked if he thinks he'll play the original MK character again in the future, responding with:
No, I don’t think so. I think Cole is done. If I were to come back in Mortal Kombat III, it would be in a different way. We’ll figure that out as it goes, but there have been a lot of fans asking for a casting for different characters, and there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes talk about how we can make it work. I would love to stay in the universe with my Mortal Kombat family and be able to deliver a higher level of action and martial arts with a character that actually is in the game.
Well, I'm intrigued. While we have seemingly seen the last of Cole Young in the burgeoning Mortal Kombat franchise, that doesn't mean that Lewis Tan won't be back if/when a threequel is ordered by Warner Bros.. So who could he end up playing?
One popular theory is that Cole will end up becoming the blind hero Kenshi. Mortal Kombat II saw Sub-Zero transform into Noob Saibot, so there is some precedence there. Later in his same interview, Tan spoke about his unique history with the franchise, offering:
I played Kung Jing in a Mortal Kombat series that never came out, so I’ve had this strange luck with Mortal Kombat where I’ve almost played a game character a few times now.
Cole Young might be dead, but that doesn't mean that the Deadpool 2 actor's tenure in Mortal Kombat is done. Hopefully another movie gets green lit soon; writer Jeremy Slater has ideas for four more Mortal Kombat titles.
Despite the games having a huge roster of characters, the first Mortal Kombat put original character Cole Young front and center, including a relation to Scorpion. This was a choice some fans took umbrage with, but didn't expect him to have such a small role in the sequel. But if Lewis Tan returns as a new character that might be just what the doctor ordered.
Mortal Kombat II is streaming now on HBO Max as part of the 2026 movie release list. Fingers crossed that the live-action franchise gets to continue with a third movie by director Simon McQuoid.
