Mortal Kombat 2, the sequel to the 2021 hit that earned itself a decent amount of praise and performed well at the box office, will be filmed in Queensland, according to an announcement from Warner Bros, New Line Cinema and the Queensland Government.
Filming is set to commence in June at the Gold Coast’s Village Roadshow Studios, reportedly creating up to 560 jobs and adding $68 million to the local economy.
Attracted by Screen Australia’s Producer Offset, it’s a return to filming Down Under for Director Simon McQuoid and Producer James Wan, after the previous film was shot in South Australia.
“I’m so proud that Atomic Monster is able to bring the filming of Mortal Kombat 2 to Australia,” Wan said. “Filming the first film in Australia was such a great experience, I’m thrilled that with the help of Screen Australia and Screen Queensland, we can show off the majestic locations of Queensland and work with the top-notch artistic talent based there.”
“International and Australian producers continually look to Queensland as a destination of choice for film and series production — attracted by our competitive government incentives, enviable studios and post-production facilities, unbeatable locations, and the expertise of our local crews and creatives,” Screen Queensland’s Acting CEO Dr Belinda Burns said of the news.
Recently, it was revealed that Karl Urban (The Boys, Dredd) has been tapped to play Mortal Kombat’s iconic sunnies-rocking bad boy, Johnny Cage.
Earlier in the year it was also revealed that Moon Knight Season 1 head writer, Jeremy Slater, had been hired by Warner Bros. to pen the script for Mortal Kombat 2, saying “I don’t think it’s necessarily going to have the same tone as the MCU, but it’s definitely going to have some of my sensibilities. That was part of my pitch to them. This is ‘Mortal Kombat.’ We have guys who are ripping off their faces and breathing fire—it’s a weird universe, let’s embrace some of that weirdness, and let’s make a ‘Mortal Kombat ‘sequel that no one is expecting and that can kind of sneak in and blow everyone away. We’re still really early in that process, but I’m having a blast with this script.”
The Mortal Kombat franchise is hot right now, with a brand-new game titled Mortal Kombat 1 having just been announced for a release in September.
