Source: Warner Bros. / Mortal Kombat II

Welp, we won’t be seeing Moral Kombat II in theaters this year.

In a stunning move, Warner Bros. has decided to hit the pause button on the highly anticipated sequel to 2021’s Mortal Kombat movie, delaying the Karl Urban-led film until May 15, 2026, moving it from its original October 2025 release date.

In a post on Instagram announcing the delay and sharing a new poster along with possibly teasing a new trailer, the caption read, “The tournament demands a new time and place, worthy of its spectacle. Mortal Kombat II – only in theaters May 15, 2026.

Tuesday unlocks the next level.”

No precise reasoning for the delay was shared with many, as Warner Bros. is likely trying to capitalize on the strong response to the first trailer by letting this movie simmer in the oven a bit longer.

The trailer was viewed more than 11 million times on Warner Bros.’ official channel. In contrast, according to Deadline’s reporting, it was viewed over 117 million times across different social media and YouTube channels.

Mortal Kombat II picks up where the 2021 reboot film left off.

This time will following Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), a washed up action movie star who is recruited by Lord Raiden (Todanobu Asano) to join his band of fighters that includes Lui Kang (Ludi Lin), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Cole Young (Lewis Tan) and possibly Hanzo Hasashi aka Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada) to take on Shao Khan (Martyn Ford) and his minions in the tournament Mortal Kombat that will determine the fate of Earthrealm.

Social Media Is Not Happy About Mortal Kombat II’s Delay

As you can imagine, fans are somewhat upset that the release of Mortal Kombat II has been pushed back to next summer, a decision they didn’t see coming.

Welp, there’s nothing we can do but wait.

Until then, you can see more reactions in the gallery below.