Kano’s Mortal Kombat 2 Return Was Driven By 1 Key Factor, Reveals Star

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Though Kano appeared to die in the 2021 game Mortal Kombat, he’s coming back in the upcoming Mortal Kombat 2.

Kano started out as a hero in the first Mortal Kombat movie, but he quickly became a villain after discovering a special power that let him shoot lasers from his damaged eye. The film ended with Sonya Blade seemingly killing him, leaving no hint of a return. However, thanks to the original video game series, Kano is back for Mortal Kombat 2.

Josh Lawson, who played Kano in the recent Mortal Kombat movie, told ScreenRant that he was surprised by how much fans enjoyed it. He jokingly said the positive reviews were the first good ones he’d ever gotten. He then shared his experience with the film.

I always give each role my best effort, and sometimes it clicks, sometimes it doesn’t. When I saw the fans were upset about my character’s death, I felt terrible! Luckily, the showrunners had a plan to bring him back, which makes sense in the world of Mortal Kombat – people can return from the dead there. I was really relieved and happy to get another chance, because I still feel like I have a lot to offer the character.

Sonya’s finishing move on Kano – gouging out his eyes – not only triggered a powerful awakening within her, giving her the ability to shoot energy blasts, but it also could have killed him. However, given the history of the Mortal Kombat series, where characters often return from the dead, there was discussion about bringing Kano back for a sequel even while the first movie was still being released.

Details about how Kano returns in Mortal Kombat 2 won’t be revealed until the movie premieres on May 8, 2026. However, he’ll still be a villain, though the actor says his character has changed since Kano’s previous ‘death.’ He calls this version ‘Kano 2.0’ and suggests Kano’s loyalties might be different this time – which fits the character’s unpredictable nature in other stories.

Richard Lawson is the latest actor to play Kano in live-action adaptations, following Trevor Goddard in the 1995 Mortal Kombat film and Darren Shahlavi in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Kano first appeared as a playable character in the original Mortal Kombat video game in 1992, and has remained a prominent character in the franchise for over thirty years, including the 2023 game Mortal Kombat 1.

The eagerness for a sequel is evident in the lengths taken to bring Kano back, with actor Ryan Lawson reprising his role to cause trouble in Mortal Kombat 2. He’s joined by returning cast members like Jessica McNamee as Sonya, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Max Huang as Kung Lao, Radanobu Asano as Shang Tsung, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion.

The sequel will feature returning actors alongside new faces like Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn, Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod, and Ana The Nguyen as Queen Sindel. Simon McQuoid is back as director, and Jeremy Slater wrote the screenplay, building on the work of Greg Russo and Dave Callaham from the first Mortal Kombat film.

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2026-05-08 02:58