re: Mortal Kombat releasing at midnight on HBO Max

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This is Mortal Kombat. This franchise has killed off and brought back to life half of the cast of characters at least once. Shang Tsung said in the end that death is just another portal as the dead guys evaporated. They could easily be back.

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It's pretty obvious that Shang Tsung is going to resurrect all of his minions.

Here's where I have issues with the story:

-Kung Lao. They flipped the script between Kung Lao and Liu Kang. In the games, Kung Lao is insanely insecure and jealous of Liu Kang. He even disguises himself as a guard to infiltrate the first tournament after Raiden explicitly says that only Liu Kang will represent the White Lotus. In my opinion, he died too early.

-Kano. They significantly toned down the level of hate Sonya and Jax have for Kano. Sonya's hate for Kano is obsessive. The game series Sonya would kill him on site without even hesitating if given the chance. Also, while I know Shang Tsung will resurrect him, Kano is a fricking cockroach - ridiculously hard to kill.

-Scorpion. You can't have Scorpion without Quan Chi. If that's the direction they want to go, then Hanzo just became a one-off.

I could see them going in a few different directions with the introduction of the following heroes:

-Johnny Cage. That's a no-brainer.

-Kenshi Takahashi. For those unfamiliar with him, he is the reason Shang Tsung has such a long lifespan. He is tricked into retrieving a family heirloom (katana) that has the souls of his ancestors. Shang Tsung consumes many of them and the resulting psychic feedback blinds Kenshi but gives him telepathic and telekinetic abilities. He is also cursed, nearly 700 years old (14th century).

-Princess Kitana. I could see the writers having her in exile on Earth. That would explain how Mileena was there but not Kitana. Shang Tsung can just make another clone (and he has made multiple copies of her)

-Kuai Liang. This one will be the hardest for them to reconcile, as in the games he is the younger brother of Bi Han and enters the Outworld (second) tournament to find his brother's killer. Decades later he makes peace with Hanzo and the Shirai Ryu.

-Kung Jin. Since Kung Lao is now dead, this is where you introduce his nephew. He'd have to be a lot older in the sequel than he is in the games (in the games he is 5 when Kung Lao is killed). This also gives them the woke angle they need since Jin is gay.

-Nightwolf. They could either use Grey Cloud (Nightwolf from the games) or a different version. Both his predecessor and successor are women.

-Qu'atal (Kotal). Kotal has been both hero and villain in the games. For those familiar with Mortal Kombat X and 11, he is Jade's fiancee and leads the Osh Tekk (basically they are the Outworld version of the Mayan Gods)