The Mortal Kombat II movie was set to be released on October 24, 2025, but now it has been delayed to March 15, 2026. In other words, fans will have to wait an additional six months to get an overdose of Johnny Cage one-liners and more of more Johnny Cage’s fatalities. The news, to say the least, has sparked a great deal of discussion among the gamers.
The news was initially posted on The Game Awards Twitter account, and if you take a look at the replies, it is a whole mood of its own. There is anger, which is then followed by confusion, and a small handful of people don’t care one bit. To everyone’s utter disbelief, and frankly the most infuriating matter, is the confusion behind the question… Why? What purpose does it serve to delay a movie that is close to completion by over half a year?
The reply that GameOrDlie007 gave perfectly captures how a lot of users felt in the beginning: “You don’t delay a film for over half a year right before it comes out unless there are massive problems with it.” And honestly, the viewpoint does seem reasonable. The issue went on to seem a little overboard. Though the reasoning behind this concern is valid, other comments start painting a different narrative.
The perceptions around Moddren immediately stood out with a different perspective from the rest. He almost took the stance that the delay is a *good* sign in the vacuum of all the speculation. To multiple people, he responded with comments such as “Apparently it’s already good. So good in fact they think that can make more money off it next summer.” and “It’s already cooked to perfection. They want more money in the summer. They aren’t editing the film any further.”
So what was I saying? To clarify, the prevailing theory is that the movie tested exceptionally well in early screenings. Thus, the studio believes that it can do significantly better as a summer blockbuster. Therefore, the decision to move it to May 2026 is also a way to place the movie in the prime season where movies make way more money. It’s not about fixing any issues; it’s about maximizing the payout. Which, yeah, is how Hollywood rolls.
Though not everyone agrees with this perception. User ArkhamFables had a more curt reply, responding to someone with “If a movie is nearly done it’s best to toss it into the dumpster and accept a loss. It’s weird they’d push it out this far and waste more money on it ngl.” So the debate is really split between “this is a strategic power move” and “this is a disaster.”
Naturally, the Internet responded with hot takes and memes. Tyler_Duffel dropped the “your soul is mine!” quote. JeranOwens, as always, dropped a reaction GIF, which is the only appropriate response to the slew of information being thrown at us all the time. Regular_Wheel37 however voiced a concern for everyone; “Everyone’s about to be too focused on gta 6 to go see this 😭.” And yeah, that is kind of valid. GTA 6 is rumored to be Released in fall 2025, meaning the movie would have been released shortly after the Anthem of the game.
Brandonperez7 made a very specific demand in the middle of what seemed like total chaos, “They better fix Jade, that’s what I want only.” Infact, a lot of the responses come out as pure confusion. ZomForShort confessed, “didnt know it was even coming out this year anyways I completely forgotten about it anyways lol.”
In the delay, Karl Urban will be starring as Johnny Cage before reprising his role as Billy Butcher in *The Boys,* as noted by LolaClemntine. So, I guess that is something to look forward to.
As I said before, there is a broad range of opinion from frustration mixed with understanding and a total overdose of the internet’s take. Some folks are frustrated they have to wait even more, others have resigned to the fact, and some are saying there is no way the movie is any good to begin with. If the rumors are true that it is, in fact, a new gem for the gaming community, then the wait might be worth it. The original release in 2021 was an adaptation that was surprisingly entertaining and captured the spirit of the games with the gory, over-the-top essence. So, expectations are high for the sequel because it is supposed to introduce Johnny Cage and the actual Mortal Kombat tournament.
All we can do is… wait. Until May 2026. That seems almost unbelievably far away. At least the release date is locked-in. Fingers crossed the movie is a flawless victory and not a fatality. I guess we’ll know in two years. Sigh.
