Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon wants Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to play Shao Kahn in the upcoming sequel to the 2021 MK film.
Ed Boon, the long-standing head of Netherrealm Studios, has tweeted his support for the idea of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to play Shao Kahn. The former WWE star has become a movie star in his own right, having played several high profile characters over the past few years.
Why is The Rock being in MK being discussed?
Speculation kicked off when a recent interview with Johnson pointed to him being in an upcoming video game adaption, something that he has "played for years," and is one of the "most badass games around."
I can’t tell you which game in particular we’re doing, but there will be an announcement this year. We’re going to bring one of the biggest, most badass games to the screen—one that I’ve played for years. I’m really excited to bring it to fans around the world. Of course we’re going to do right by our gamer friends—but really we’re just going to make a great movie.
In response to this, Ed Boon, the creator of Mortal Kombat said that he would "make a great Shao Kahn" on Twitter. This has led fans to jump on this speculation bandwagon, especially as it was recently revealed that Mortal Kombat 2 was in the works at Warner Bros.
Johnson has the right kind of frame to play someone as intimidating as Shao Kahn, the overlord of Outworld. It would be most amusing to hear the Rock say "You suck" and laugh, just as Shao Kahn did all those years ago in Mortal Kombat 2.
The Rock is of course no stranger to playing major roles in video game franchises. He previously starred in Doom as well as Rampage, in addition to the Jumanji sequel (which had several video game elements.)
Mortal Kombat 2 greenlit at WB
Mortal Kombat 2 was only very recently greenlit by WB. The movie was HBO Max's most successful streaming debut, where it received generally good reviews. Many fans liked the movie, but did note they wished it actually featured the titled Mortal Kombat tournament. Others were of the opinion that Cole Young, the movie's only original protagonist, seemed a bit overpowered.
Jeremy Slater, the writer for Marvel's Moon Knight, is set to join the project as the writer. Details surrounding the plot were sparse for the new movie so far, but the ending of the 2021 film did tease that there was more to come. Specifically, that there should be a tournament coming up, as most of the first film was about preparations and an early attempt at sabotage by the Outworld forces.
It's still very early days for the movie, as the cast from the first film has not yet been confirmed to be returning. It's also unclear who will direct the new film. However, it would be odd if the studio didn't work to return the cast, which included (among others):
- Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade
- Lewis Tan as Cole Young
- Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion
- Sisi Stringer as Mileena
- Larua Brent as Alison Young
- Josh Lawson as Kano
- Chin Han as Shang Tsung
What do you think the cast would be like with The Rock rounding it out? Let us know on Twitter @Esports and keep it locked here for the latest in FGC news.