After last year’s stellar debut with Mortal Kombat, New Line aims to test its might with a follow-up.

While it’d been previously announced that Jeremy Slater (“The Exorcist,” “Moon Knight”) was tapped to pen the sequel, Deadline reports that Simon McQuoid is returning to the director’s seat.

Plot details remain scarce, but it feels safe to predict that we’ll see Johnny Cage appear in the sequel based on the post-credits tease in Mortal Kombat. Will he participate in an actual tournament this time? We’ll have to wait and see.

Produced by James Wan, Mortal Kombat pulled in $83.6 million worldwide at the box office beginning on April 23, 2021, right around the time that pandemic vaccines were finally being offered up for the first time. The gory video game adaptation was also watched by 3.8 million households during that weekend, a number no other movie was able to pass on HBO Max.

In last year’s Mortal Kombat, ”MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage—or why Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family’s safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao and rogue mercenary Kano, as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana—the immense power from within his soul—in time to save not only his family, but to stop Outworld once and for all?”

The international cast includes Lewis Tan (“Deadpool 2,” Netflix’s “Wu Assassins”) as Cole Young; Jessica McNamee (“The Meg”) as Sonya Blade; Josh Lawson (“Bombshell”) as Kano; Tadanobu Asano (“Midway”) as Lord Raiden; Mehcad Brooks (TV’s “Supergirl”) as Jackson “Jax” Bridges; Ludi Lin (“Aquaman”) as Liu Kang; with Chin Han (“Skyscraper”) as Shang Tsung; Joe Taslim (“Star Trek Beyond”) as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero; and Hiroyuki Sanada (“Ringu”) as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion. Also featured are Max Huang as Kung Lao; Sisi Stringer as Mileena; Matilda Kimber as Emily Young; and Laura Brent as Allison Young.