Mortal Kombat 3 is waiting for its fatality. The sequel has no release date and no confirmed director, and Simon McQuoid — who made both the 2021 reboot and this year’s Mortal Kombat II — is not sure he would be the one to deliver it.
Asked by The Wrap for an update on the third film and whether he would return, McQuoid kept the answer short:
“I think it’s still going through its life cycle. So I don’t know yet. I’m not sure.”
The project is not dead. Screenwriter Jeremy Slater said at New York Comic Con in 2025 that he had begun writing the third film, with New Line and Warner Bros. “so happy” with the sequel. That promise landed a year before Mortal Kombat II reached cinemas — a sequel that itself took five years to follow the 2021 reboot.
The wait did not translate into a knockout. Mortal Kombat II opened to $63 million worldwide and closed its run on $129 million, per Box Office Mojo — comfortably past the $80 million budget reported by Variety, but with marketing and distribution counted, not the sort of total that fast-tracks a trilogy.
What happens to Mortal Kombat 3
McQuoid, for his part, has other fights scheduled. Asked whether he would like to make a third film, he pointed at projects that have nothing to do with the tournament:
“Well, I feel like there are other stories that I want to tell that aren’t necessarily in ‘Mortal Kombat’ and I have multiple things in development, one of which we’re just casting now and that’s not ‘Mortal Kombat’ at all, something that is in the real world and very much a deep dive into a singular character and character study. I’m excited about it. But I never want to close doors. I’m just always trying to open doors.”
One of those projects is being cast now: a real-world character study. The door, though, stays open — McQuoid was clear he does not want to close it.
For now, Mortal Kombat 3 has no greenlight and no date. The franchise is not short of ideas: Kung Lao actor Max Huang has floated a Shaolin Monks spinoff, and Karl Urban has discussed where Johnny Cage goes next.
Mortal Kombat II is out on digital and 4K UHD. It played UAE cinemas from May 7, 2026, at VOX.
Is Mortal Kombat 3 confirmed?
Not yet. Screenwriter Jeremy Slater said at New York Comic Con in 2025 that he had begun writing the third film, but no greenlight, cast or release date has been announced. Director Simon McQuoid says it is “still going through its life cycle”.
Who is Simon McQuoid?
An Australian director whose feature debut was the 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot. He also directed Mortal Kombat II, which reached cinemas in May 2026.
When did Mortal Kombat II come out?
Mortal Kombat II was released on May 8, 2026, five years after the 2021 reboot. It opened in UAE cinemas a day earlier, on May 7, 2026, and is now available on digital and 4K UHD.
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