MK Characters Still Missing From the Movies After MK 2

Mortal Kombat II has landed in theaters with a $61.5 million global opening weekend, and the franchise is clearly just getting started. The sequel brought Johnny Cage, Kitana, Quan Chi, Jade, Shao Kahn, and Baraka into the fold — plus resurrected Kano from the dead — but even with that packed roster, there’s a long list of iconic Kombatants who still haven’t gotten their moment on the big screen.

Writer Jeremy Slater, who grew up feeding quarters into Mortal Kombat arcade machines and now holds the keys to the entire film franchise, isn’t shy about his ambitions. Speaking with Variety, he laid it out plainly: “I have dozens of characters that I want to bring into live action. Some of them are on deck next, and some of them are being saved for a hypothetical 4, 5 or 6. In success, we will get to as many of the classics as we possibly can, but we always want to be careful to never overload the audience.”

A fourth, fifth, and sixth film. That’s the vision. And with Warner Bros. having greenlit Mortal Kombat III back in October 2025 — seven months before MK2 even hit theaters — and Slater already deep into a second draft of that script, the pipeline is very real. So who are the fan-favorites still waiting in the wings?

The Most Glaring Absence: Kuai Liang’s Sub-Zero

If there’s one character whose absence from Mortal Kombat II genuinely surprised fans, it’s Kuai Liang — the younger brother of Bi-Han and the Sub-Zero most people actually grew up loving. In the games, after Bi-Han was killed and became the undead wraith Noob Saibot, his brother stepped into the Sub-Zero mantle. He had the same ice powers but a fundamentally different soul — less cruel, more conflicted, and eventually one of the heroes.

The 2021 film gave us Bi-Han’s death at Scorpion’s hands as one of its standout moments. The sequel brought Bi-Han back as a shadow-wielding wraith. But Kuai Liang? Still nowhere to be seen. Given how central the Sub-Zero name is to the franchise’s identity, and how compelling the idea of Scorpion eventually forging an alliance with a new Sub-Zero could be, this feels like the most obvious move for Mortal Kombat III.

Cyrax, Sektor, and the Cyber Lin Kuei

Tied directly to Kuai Liang’s story are Cyrax and Sektor, the cybernetic assassins who represent one of the franchise’s most visually distinctive concepts. After Sub-Zero defected from the Lin Kuei clan over their decision to mechanize all of its members, some warriors — like Sektor — volunteered for the transformation. Others, like Cyrax, were turned into cyborgs against their will.

Cyrax’s arc is particularly rich: a warrior who loses their humanity, then fights to reclaim it. The connections to Sub-Zero, the Lin Kuei, and the broader lore make them a natural fit for wherever the franchise takes its ninja storyline next. The Mortal Kombat films have leaned heavily into fantasy so far — Jax’s robotic arms being the main sci-fi exception — so Cyrax and Sektor would bring something genuinely different to the screen. And given that the characters were partly inspired by Boba Fett and the Predator’s Yautja, there’s even room for Johnny Cage to riff on them in the way he dropped Lord of the Rings and Squid Game references in MK2.

Shinnok: The Villain Already Being Set Up

Of all the characters on this list, Shinnok is the one the films are most clearly building toward. A fallen Elder God banished to the Netherrealm for attempting to conquer Earthrealm, Shinnok is arguably the biggest villain in the entire franchise — a tier above even Shao Kahn. He’s the son of a Titan, the ruler of the Netherrealm, and in the games, it takes Raiden literally beheading him to stop his reign.

Mortal Kombat II made a point of featuring the Amulet of Shinnok as a key plot device — Shao used it to achieve immortality — and Slater confirmed to Variety that this was entirely intentional. “I can’t say when he’s coming, but we’re certainly always in conversation about what our plans for Shinnok are,” he said. “And those plans do start with the introduction of the Amulet in this movie.” The breadcrumb has been laid. The Fallen Elder God is coming.

Ermac: The Character Born From a Glitch

Ermac has one of the most unusual origin stories in gaming history. He began as an urban legend — fans spotted “ERMAC” in the code of the original Mortal Kombat and convinced themselves it was a secret red ninja, a counterpart to the yellow Scorpion, blue Sub-Zero, and green Reptile. In reality, it was short for “Error Macro,” a glitch notification. But the myth took on a life of its own, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 eventually made it official by adding Ermac as a secret character.

He’s been a franchise mainstay ever since — a being made up of the amalgamated souls of countless warriors slain in Outworld, bound and controlled by Shao Kahn. Telekinesis, teleportation, levitation, soul projectiles. And here’s what makes his film debut feel overdue: Mortal Kombat II opens with the brutal death of King Jerrod, Kitana’s father. In the lore, Jerrod’s soul is one of those trapped within Ermac. That’s not an accident. The groundwork is already there.

Tanya and the Edenia Angle

Tanya hasn’t appeared in as many games as some of the heavy hitters on this list, but she fills a specific and valuable narrative role — the traitor from within. Born in Edenia under Shao Kahn’s rule, she harbored a deep resentment toward Sindel and Kitana even after they reclaimed their kingdom. When Shinnok and Quan Chi came looking for a way into the realm, Tanya opened the door for them.

She also developed a close bond with Mileena — Kitana’s monstrous half-Tarkatan clone — and the two conspired together against their shared enemies. With Kitana now firmly established in the film universe, and Mileena’s absence from MK2 leaving fans wanting more of that twisted sisterly dynamic, Tanya slots in as the kind of complex antagonist who could add real dramatic texture to Mortal Kombat III. She’s not just a villain. She’s a personal betrayal.

Erron Black: The Wildcard

Erron Black is a newer addition to the franchise — he debuted in Mortal Kombat X — but he immediately became one of its most distinctive characters. An immortal gunslinger who made a deal with Shang Tsung for a piece of eternal life, Black has been walking the earth for around 150 years, accumulating the kind of hard-won expertise that makes him genuinely dangerous. Twin revolvers, rifles, blades. No magic, no cyborg tech. Just a man who’s had a century and a half to get very good at killing people.

In a franchise full of sorcerers and gods and four-armed monsters, there’s something almost refreshing about that. His signature Money Shot move — ricocheting a bullet off a coin to hit his target — is exactly the kind of stylized, crowd-pleasing moment that plays beautifully on screen. Slater’s vision of Mortal Kombat as New Line’s answer to Fast and Furious leaves plenty of room for a character like Black, who could slot naturally into any number of spinoff scenarios.

Nightwolf and the Matoka Legacy

Nightwolf has been part of the Mortal Kombat roster since the third game, and what makes the character particularly compelling for a film adaptation is the mythology around the name itself. In Mortal Kombat 11, Nightwolf isn’t just one person — it’s a mantle passed down through generations of the Matoka Tribe. Whoever carries the name inherits a host of abilities: a Tomahawk, powerful shamanic magic, and access to the memories and experiences of every Nightwolf who came before.

That’s a genuinely cinematic concept — a warrior who is simultaneously an individual and a living legacy. It also gives filmmakers real flexibility in how they introduce the character and which version of the story they want to tell.

What Comes Next

Mortal Kombat III is already in motion. Slater is close to finishing a second draft, and the studio’s enthusiasm is evident — WB has positioned Mortal Kombat alongside DC, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones as one of its core franchise assets. The first film’s lifetime gross was $84 million; MK2 crossed $60 million in its first week alone.

Several characters from the first two films are also in line for returns. Liu Kang’s fate at the end of MK2 — whether he died or ascended to another plane — is being deliberately left open. “What actually happened to him in that moment is absolutely a mystery that’s going to be explored in Mortal Kombat III,” Slater told Variety. Kabal, Reptile, Mileena, and Goro are all possibilities too, since as Slater put it, “death is never permanent” in this universe.

And then there’s Lewis Tan. Slater killed off Cole Young — the original-character POV lead from the first film — in the opening of MK2, acknowledging the character was a studio mandate that never quite fit. But he’s clearly not done with the actor himself: “That doesn’t mean you’re not going to see Lewis Tan again in some regards.”

The roster is deep. The plans are ambitious. And if the box office keeps cooperating, Mortal Kombat’s cinematic universe is only just beginning to fill out its character select screen.