Greg Russo, who co-wrote Mortal Kombat (2021), told Collider he envisages the reboot as a trilogy, with the first film taking place before the tournament, the second occurring during it, and the third set following the tournament.
Following the release of Mortal Kombat (2021), Simon McQuoid explained that the character Johnny Cage was left out because Cage is a "giant personality" who would have upset the film's balance. He said possible sequels could explore material for characters such as Cage and Kitana, and added he would like to see more female characters included.
Jessica McNamee has said she would be keen to further explore Sonya's relationship with Johnny and Cassie Cage in any future instalments.
Joe Taslim has been contracted to appear in four sequels.
The film centres on the eponymous tournament and is reportedly to be followed by a further sequel set in the aftermath of the tournament.
Professional wrestler Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin has publicly declared an interest in playing Johnny Cage and even received the backing of Mortal Kombat co‑creator Ed Boon. Martial-arts actor Scott Adkins also indicated interest in the Cage role while interviewing Lewis Tan, with Tan agreeing. Ryan Reynolds has been a popular fan pick for Cage as well, with Boon supporting him, and both Alain Moussi and Tazito Garcia have campaigned for the part too.
Ed Boon has expressed an interest in Dwayne Johnson portraying Shao Khan.
This marks the second time that Karl Urban, Tati Gabrielle and Adeline Rudolph have worked on a production adapted from a video game. Urban previously appeared in Doom (2005), Gabrielle in Uncharted (2022) and Rudolph in Resident Evil (2022).
It was officially announced on 26 January 2022 that Moon Knight (2022) screenwriter Jeremy Slater would be responsible for penning the screenplay.
This marks only the second occasion a performer has returned in a Mortal Kombat feature-film sequel to portray a different character. Damon Herriman, who provided the voice of Kabal in Mortal Kombat (2021), returns in the follow-up to play Quan Chi. Previously, Keith Cooke, who appeared as Reptile in Mortal Kombat (1995), came back in the sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) as Sub-Zero (specifically the younger brother, Kuai Liang). It is also the second time someone has portrayed both Kabal and Quan Chi in one form or another: Richard Divizio played Kabal in the Mortal Kombat 3 arcade game (and its updates, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Mortal Kombat Trilogy) and later took on Quan Chi in Mortal Kombat Mythologies, additionally serving as the live-action model for the promotional material for Mortal Kombat 4.
Cody Rhodes was in contention for the part of Johnny Cage.
Adeline Rudolph and Tati Gabrielle have both appeared alongside one another in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018).
Sisi Stringer has confirmed she will not reprise the role of Mileena.
Actor, stuntman, martial artist and cosplayer Danny Bortfeld, known for cosplaying Johnny Cage, actively lobbied to be cast as Cage in the film.
Simon McQuoid was rumoured not to reprise the director's role on the sequel because of scheduling conflicts.
Arawinda Kirana auditioned for the part of Jade, but the role was ultimately awarded to Tati Gabrielle.
Scott Connors and Rob Kipa-Williams were both under consideration for the role of Shao Khan.
On the same day Entertainment Weekly published the first photographs of Johnny Cage, Kitana, Shao Khan and Scorpion, their film skins for the sequel — which debuted in Mortal Kombat 1 (2023) — were revealed.
