Warner Bros. showed at New York Comic-Con, this Saturday (11), a new trailer, a behind-the-scenes video and an unprecedented scene from its long-awaited Mortal Kombat 2which includes a moment that will especially appeal to older fans of the franchise. The sequence of Mortal Kombat (2021) was originally scheduled to premiere on October 24, 2025, but its date was postponed to May 14, 2026.
To make up for the delay, the studio presented a special panel at NYCC with stars Karl Urban (Johnny Cage), Adeline Rudolph (Kitana), Tati Gabrielle (Jade) and Martyn Ford (Shao Kahn), as well as director Simon McQuoid and screenwriter Jeremy Slater, who confirmed at the event that he was working on a third film in the franchise.
The American press was present at the panel, which ended with the showing of a new trailer and an exclusive scene — not yet released online. The clip shows Johnny Cage in action and confirms one of the character's most iconic moves, present since the first game in the series, released in 1992: the famous “Nutcracker Punch”.
In the scene, Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) tries to convince Baraka (CJ Bloomfield) to join the Earth Kingdom in the fight against Shao Kahn, but the warrior refuses, claiming that the group does not have an army. Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) then provokes him, calling him a coward, which makes Baraka change his mind and decide to fight — but against Cage.
As Liu Kang, Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) and Jax (Mehcad Brooks) watch, they joke, “You’re going to die.” At the beginning of the duel, Johnny is clearly overpowered, until he is knocked down and loses his sunglasses. Sonya encourages him by saying, “You are an actor, so act.”
Soon after, Johnny puts on his glasses again and turns the tables, defeating Baraka with his most iconic blow: he does the splits and lands a punch directly in the opponent's intimate area — the classic “Nutcracker”. The Comic-Con audience reacted enthusiastically to the scene, which drew applause from the audience.
In games, the blow is known by different names, such as “Nutcracker”, “Nut Punch” or “Split Punch”. In addition to being a trademark of the character, it is a tribute to the actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, who served as inspiration for Johnny Cage and is famous for performing the same movement in The Great White Dragon (Bloodsport).
It is not yet known whether Baraka will be the only one to feel the “Nutcracker” in the new film, but the answer will come soon.
Even before the premiere of Mortal Kombat 2set for May 15, 2026, Warner Bros. confirmed that a third film in the franchise is already in development. The announcement was made by screenwriter Jeremy Slater during New York Comic-Con, confirming that he will return as responsible for the script after also signing the sequel.
According to the portal Deadlinethe studio is confident in the success of the second feature, especially after the impact of the first trailer, which reached more than 107 million views in 24 hours, becoming the most watched R-rated trailer in history. The good early reception drove the decision to continue the franchise.
There are still no details about the story of Mortal Kombat 3 There is no release date, but the expectation is that the same production team from Mortal Kombat 2 will return. The second film is produced by Todd Garner, James Wan, Toby Emmerich, E. Bennett Walsh and Simon McQuoid, who also directs the sequel, in addition to executive producers Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Jeremy Slater and Lawrence Kasanoff.
Mortal Kombat 2 hits theaters on May 15, 2026.
The first film, Mortal Kombat, is available on HBO Max.
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