Putting it straight, the Mortal Kombat reboot was a definite step above Annihilation and even the original movie, but the inclusion of Cole Young and the fact that the characters that died might be coming back in the next movie kind of ruined the whole idea of what had just happened. Plus, making Cole Young the main focus instead of allowing Liu Kang to head up the action as before was a bit of a mistake, as some fans thought. It’s also worth noting that while there were a few notably good actors in the movie, there wasn’t a headliner that could have really turned things around. Just imagine if Dwayne Johnson had been a part of the movie, or if he actually decides to say yes to the idea of showing up in the sequel? The only downside is wondering which character he might play. The hope is that he would take on the role of an existing character and not be added in as another new face that people would have to get used to. But again, who would he play?
There are definitely a few characters that fans would love to see him play. But since Jax is taken that choice is definitely out, which leaves only a handful of individuals that would need to be carefully considered before rejecting them outright or thinking they might work. It also depends on which direction the story is going to be headed in the sequel since characters such as Onaga and several others that appear in later games might not be on the table just yet. One character that comes to mind though is one that would likely be perfect for Johnson to play since he has the figure and ability for it, and he could definitely play the powerful character of Shao Kahn just fine. It wouldn’t be Johnson’s first turn as a villain, but it could definitely be a way to introduce the character and make up for the horrible way that Annihilation treated the emperor of Outworld.
Johnson is no stranger to being a villain, or to being a super-powerful being that can beat people to a bloody pulp with his bare hands. His stint in Doom and as the Scorpion King in The Mummy returns made it clear that he can get physical and make it look good. Plus, he managed to play a heel in the WWE for long enough that it was easy to believe, so the part of the villain is something that he can do without a problem. But getting it to happen is the biggest issue since there’s no way to tell if he’s going to be available whenever the next movie starts up. Johnson is in pretty high demand and has been for a while since he came to Hollywood. He’s had his misfires when it comes to movies, but a lot of the time his presence on the set has managed to make a movie stand out more than it had any right to, so people are definitely trying to get him to sign on to their projects whenever possible. While it’s a definite thing that there will be an MK sequel, it’s still not sure when it will happen, so perhaps there’s time and opportunity yet for Johnson to join the cast.
The problem with playing anyone other than Shao Kahn though has largely to do with the idea that a person that isn’t the ethnicity they’re portraying tends to get a lot of people hot under the collar these days. So positioning him as someone like Nightwolf or Kenshi might be a big mistake in the making. As I said, Onaga might be a good idea, but the level of CGI and makeup would be intense, even more so than Shao Khan. Having him on as Stryker might be interesting, but again, fans would likely question this to death. One thing that can be counted on with fans of this franchise is that they would rip to pieces anything that doesn’t make sense, even if they can’t change the outcome in the least bit. Cole Young is a perfect example of this since from his inclusion to the moment his arcana came into being, people really didn’t like this guy. He’s a weak fighter, he’s filled with self-doubt, and making him Scorpion’s descendant was kind of a sneaky way to justify his very existence.
But if Johnson does manage to make his way over to the MK camp it does feel that his perfect fit would be the emperor of Outworld, as it’s easy to see him swinging that humongous maul and taunting the other fighters mercilessly. As a villain, he’s definitely imposing, and hearing him trash talk someone would help make the movie in my opinion.
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