Mortal Kombat writer says they "always knew" one character would be resurrected in Mortal Kombat 3 but "altered their death" to make their fate more of a mystery

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Mortal Kombat 2 writer Jeremy Slater has already confirmed one dead character will return in the threequel.

Spoilers for the Mortal Kombat 2 ending follow.

"My pitch in the round table was you need two shocking deaths," Slater told Variety. The first happens early on in the movie, and sees Cole Young (Lewis Tan) brutally dispatched by Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford).

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Kahn also disposes of another major character – Ludi Lin's Liu Kang. But as he perishes in flames, his fate is left decidedly open-ended. Those familiar with the games, of course, will be acutely aware of the character's re-emergence as the Fire God.

To that end, Slater says Liu Kang will be back in some form in the upcoming (and undated) Mortal Kombat 3.

"We always had planned to kill him in this movie," Slater admitted. "We always knew that we would be bringing Liu Kang back in some regard in the third movie."

Yet, it appears the original vision for Liu Kang's death was something that was ultimately changed in the final version. Now, there's a little more wiggle room for Liu Kang to return as something other than a revenant – and maybe take his rightful place among Mortal Kombat's collection of deities.

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"We did wind up altering his death a little bit to make it more of a choice," Slater revealed. "So we’re not sure if he actually died or did he ascend to some other plane? What actually happened to him in that moment is absolutely a mystery that’s going to be explored in Mortal Kombat 3."

Mortal Kombat 2 is now in theatres.

Mortal Kombat isn't the only cinematic kombatant that made its name on consoles. For more, check out our guide to upcoming video game movies.

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Bradley RussellSenior Entertainment Writer

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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