“Correcting Mistakes”: Why Cole Young Had to Die in Mortal Kombat II

Mortal Kombat II writer Jeremy Slater explains why [SPOILER] had to die to save the sequel, Karl Urban’s perfect Johnny Cage, and why death is never final in this universe.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR MORTAL KOMBAT II.

The tournament has officially begun again, and this time, the stakes – and the gore – have never been higher. Following the 2021 reboot, Mortal Kombat II arrives in theaters as a “total recalibration” of the franchise, leaning heavily into the vibrant, ridiculous, and blood-soaked heart of the original games. Written by Jeremy Slater, the sequel aims to be “all gas, no brakes,” delivering the iconic finishing moves and fan-favorite characters that audiences have been craving for decades.

Mama’s Geeky sat down with screenwriter Jeremy Slater to discuss the creative “brain trust” behind the sequel, the controversial decision to kill off a lead character, and why Karl Urban is the only man who could possibly step into the sunglasses of Johnny Cage.

Jeremy Slater On Mortal Kombat II

Mama’s Geeky: How did you approach balancing the iconic game references and fatalities without it feeling like simple pandering?

Jeremy Slater: It’s so fun. It’s so hard to not just go whole hog and make the entire movie just a parade of references because there’s such a deep roster. It’s always tricky figuring out how much is too much, and when it starts to tip over into pandering. That’s why we assembled a creative brain trust with our director Simon McCoy, our producers, and the game designers themselves, Ed Boon and everyone at NetherRealm Games. All of us worked in conjunction to make sure the movie was working as fan service, but that it was more than just fan service.

Mama’s Geeky: There was some initial skepticism regarding Karl Urban’s casting as Johnny Cage. Now that fans are seeing the performance, how does that feel?

Jeremy Slater: That’s been something that’s been super gratifying in the past couple weeks is watching people—watching the hardcore fans—being like, “You know what, I wasn’t on board with this casting. And after seeing the movie, I can’t imagine anyone else playing this role”. He really steals the show. He understood the assignment; he got the tone, he got the character, he knows when to be funny, and he knows when to show the pain underneath. He’s such a chameleon and such a talent.

Mama’s Geeky: Kitana is such a huge part of this film. Why was it important to put her story at the center of the sequel?

Jeremy Slater: If you look at the emotional spine of the movie, it’s really Kitana’s story. She is the one who had her parents killed, her throne ripped away from her, and her people enslaved. She’s forced to serve as an assassin for this monster who took everything from her, and she’s just biding her time for revenge. We knew that Kitana had such a rich and emotional storyline that it was going to require some real estate to do it justice.

Mama’s Geeky: You mentioned a “recalibration” from the first film. Part of that involved the shocking decision to kill Cole Young. Can you walk us through that?

Jeremy Slater: Part of the job coming into this sequel was to correct some mistakes of the previous movies. I think the hardcore fans were very vocal – not that they disliked Lewis [Tan], but they felt like Cole Young didn’t belong. He was taking screen time away from their favorites. We could either spend an entire movie trying to dig ourselves out of that hole, or we could kind of cut our losses and focus on Johnny and Kitana.

Mama’s Geeky: Does this mean we’ve seen the last of characters like Cole, or is death a bit more fluid in this franchise?

Jeremy Slater: Part of the fun of Mortal Kombat as a franchise is that this is a universe where death is never finite. There’s always ways to bring characters back, even if it’s as different versions. I’m a big fan of Lewis Tan and I’d love to see him make an appearance again in Mortal Kombat in some format.

Mama’s Geeky: The fatalities in this film are incredibly intense. How did you and the team settle on the level of gore?

Jeremy Slater: To me, everyone is waiting for the fatalities, and part of the fun is you don’t know when that fatality is coming. At any moment, one mistake could lead to an explosion of gore. The fans have been conditioned to want these big moments that are shocking and gory, but also kind of funny at the same time. I think Simon and the effects team nailed all of them. If they’re not as good as I was imagining on the page, they’re even better.

Mortal Kombat II is in theaters now. Watch the full video interview for more insights into the script and what’s next for the franchise.

About Mortal Kombat II

From New Line Cinema comes the latest high-stakes installment in the blockbuster video game franchise in all its brutal glory, Mortal Kombat II. This time, the fan favorite champions–now joined by Johnny Cage himself–are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.

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