Mortal Kombat II features quite a few Fatalities, and while fans saw some deaths coming a mile away (Cole Young, for example), others were a little more surprising.
During the final battle against Shao Kahn, Liu Lang meets his end when the ruthless Outworld ruler impales him with his war-hammer. Kang's "death" is somewhat ambiguous, however, as he appears to ascend to Fire God status, swearing to bring Kung Lao's spirit back from the Netherrealm before vanishing in flames.
During a recent interview with Total Film, writer Jeremy Slater explained the decision to kill off one of the franchise's most popular characters.
"You contrast [Cole's death] with someone like Liu Kang, and there's a character that is not going to be that shocking for the casual fans, but for the hardcore fans who know that canonically, Liu Kang is the guy who wins the tournament, Liu Kang is the guy who kills Shao Kahn – that is a shocking moment that tells you, 'Oh, the gloves are off now. Nobody is safe.' We have now diverged from canon in a way that leaves the ultimate fate of the tournament up in the air."
"So it was really about figuring out who are those deaths that are going to have the most impact, that are going to really drive the story forward, and who is going to surprise the most amount of people, and then just trying to find a satisfying balance."
While speaking to Brandon Davis, actor Ludi Lin revealed that Liu Kang's death was originally going to be a lot more definitive - and gruesome. The scene was actually filmed, but test screening audiences "hated it."
"There's also a version where Liu Kang's death is way more brutal and my stunt double, Tyson Tran, actually shot that scene," Lin explained.
"Liu Kang gets smashed, he slams into a pillar, goes into [the] ceiling, falls down, does a scorpion where he comes over his back, snapping his spine, like ultimate fatality. I think in the end he falls on a spike or something like that. They tested it and the audiences hated it, they were like, 'No he deserves better.'"
If there is a third Mortal Kombat movie (the sequel may not have performed well enough at the box office), Liu Kang will most likely return along with every other deceased character, thanks to the necromancer Quan Chi.
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.
Karl Urban stars as Johnny Cage, alongside Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, with Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion.
Director Simon McQuoid returns to helm the follow up to his explosive 2021 cinematic adventure, from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater, based on the videogame created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The film is produced by Todd Garner, James Wan, Toby Emmerich, E. Bennett Walsh and McQuoid, and executive produced by Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Slater and Lawrence Kasanoff.
Joining McQuoid behind the camera are director of photography Stephen F. Windon, production designer Yohei Taneda, editor Stuart Levy and costume designer Cappi Ireland, with casting by Rich Delia and music by Benjamin Wallfisch.
New Line Cinema Presents an Atomic Monster/Broken Road Production, a Fireside Films Production, Mortal Kombat II.