Mortal Kombat II Ending Explained: Every Clue Pointing To Johnny Cage’s Mortal Kombat 3 Return

Spoilers below for 'Mortal Kombat II', so if you want to go in fresh, maybe tap out now. Alright, let's get into it.

After what feels like a full-on pandemic-length break, 'Mortal Kombat II' is finally here, giving fans another shot of gory, game-inspired chaos. If you remember the first one (2021), most of it was just the Earthrealm crew running training montages while the actual tournament was kicked down the road for the inevitable sequel. Well, the sequel's here—and yes, we're finally seeing the Outworld tournament play out for real.

New Faces, Same Bloodbath

The cast has definitely leveled up in star-power with Karl Urban suiting up as Johnny Cage, who, let's be honest, is basically the self-declared MVP. There are loads of new and returning fighters thrown into the mix, and the stakes are cranked up hard. Just know: Shao Kahn is not messing around and racks up an impressive (maybe excessive?) pile of bodies before the credits have even stopped rolling.

Let's Talk Tournament: Where and How Does This Even End?

The big finish is a typical Mortal Kombat juggling act: three major battle locations, all going off at once—Netherrealm, Edenia, and Raiden's Sky Temple.

• Raiden is not having a great day—he's dying at his temple, but still manages enough juice to send Johnny Cage and Kano to the Netherrealm to get help from Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion. (Yes, that Scorpion.)
• The Plan: Shao Kahn is pretty much cheating, using the Amulet of Shinnok to make himself immortal. So, destroy the amulet, kill the bad guy. Simple, right?
• Johnny and Kano find Scorpion, and Bi-Han (now Noob Saibot) is guarding the amulet for Shao Kahn. Cue loads of fighting.
• Liu Kang and Sonya are in Edenia, taking on Shao Kahn. Kitana is locked up, but gets freed and promptly switches sides (obviously). In kind of a shocker, Shao Kahn takes Sonya out and impales Liu Kang. But because it's Mortal Kombat and death is vague, Liu Kang doesn't exactly 'die'—he goes full video-game Fire God and basically transcends to save Kung Lao from Netherrealm. That's definitely a setup if I've ever seen one.

Meanwhile, Johnny finally 'unlocks' his arcana and shadow-kicks the amulet into oblivion. That immediately juices Raiden back to full power, and he shows up to squash Shang Tsung, who was about to finish him off. Over in Edenia, Shao Kahn is now mortal. Kitana then gives him a very Mortal Kombat death, with his head sliced into multiple pieces (#fanservice).

So where does that leave us? Kitana is now Queen of Edenia, Outworld has been shut down, Quan Chi (Kahn's necromancer) is locked up, and our tired heroes—Raiden, Sonya, Johnny Cage, Baraka, Kano, and some new buddies—are already teasing the next tournament. Yep, big sequel energy.

The Body Count: Who Gets Fatalitied?

You can always count on Mortal Kombat to take out a significant chunk of the cast. To keep it clean, here's who's definitely not coming back for round three (well… maybe):

• King Jerrod — Smashed by Shao Kahn's hammer
• Sindel — Dispatched by Sonya Blade
• Kung Lao (revenant version) — Liu Kang
• Cole Young — Out in the most undignified way possible (obliterated by Shao Kahn's hammer, dumped in acid, just in case you were worried about him showing up again)
• Jax — Killed by Shao Kahn (for now?)
• Liu Kang — Sacrifices himself (kind of… expect magical consequences)
• Saibot (Noob Saibot) — Sliced by Scorpion
• Shao Kahn — Finished by Kitana (seriously, that one is a highlight reel fatality)

A few folks aren't 'confirmed dead,' most obviously Shang Tsung, who seems more like he's lying low than six feet under. And since this is Mortal Kombat, that pretty much means anybody could be back, especially with Quan Chi around.

Should You Sit Through the Credits?

There are some pretty slick animated sequences playing over a remix of 'Techno Syndrome' during the credits—fun for die-hards, but that's all you're getting. No mid- or post-credits scene setting up the next movie. So feel free to bail as soon as the credits finally start crawling.

Mortal Kombat III: Is It Happening?

Short answer: Yes, Mortal Kombat 3 is in the works. Details are still pretty hush-hush, but screenwriter Jeremy Slater revealed at New York Comic Con (2025) that he's already been hired to write the next one, and has turned in what he describes as a "throw-everything-at-the-wall draft." Translation: the plot is still evolving based on what fans liked—or hated—about II.

Mortal Kombat II is very much designed as a bridge to the next chapter: Johnny Cage gets to stick around (he literally says 'Hollywood can wait'), Kitana's running Edenia, Liu Kang is off in mystical-rebirth-land, and let's not forget that necromancy is officially on the table thanks to Quan Chi. So, bringing dead champions like Jax or Kung Lao back from purgatory is totally in play (Quan Chi loves making revenants—that's his thing!). The one big exception? Cole Young. That guy is gone, absolutely on purpose, which feels like a deliberate response to the loudest critics of the last movie.

The Roster: Who's Who in 'Mortal Kombat II'

In case you want to keep track for betting or bragging rights, here's who features in Mortal Kombat II:

• Karl Urban as Johnny Cage
• Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade
• Lewis Tan as Cole Young
• Ludi Lin as Liu Kang
• Mehcad Brooks as Jax
• Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion
• Tadanobu Asano as Raiden
• Chin Han as Shang Tsung
• Joe Taslim as Bi-Han/Noob Saibot
• Adeline Rudolph as Kitana
• Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod
• Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel
• Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn
• Damon Herriman as Quan Chi
• Jade, Baraka, Kano, Kung Lao, and more, including a whole lot of masked, tattooed, and revived fighters

If you're a fan of the games, you're definitely getting your share of deep cuts, brutal finishes, and wild character moments. And no, the body count isn't going down anytime soon.