Why isn't Goro in Mortal Kombat 2?

Polygon RSS Feed✍ Jake Kleinman📅 May 8, 2026⏱ 3 min read(4 months ago)

Overview & Key Takeaways

Mortal Kombat 2 brings back plent of living (and dead) characters from the 2021 reboot, but not Goro. What gives?

If there's one thing Paul W.S. Anderson got right when he adapted the Mortal Kombat video game franchise into a blockbuster hit and made movie history, it's that everyone loves Goro. The half-human, half-dragon Prince of the Shokan played a pivotal role in the 1995 movie thanks to some impressive animatronics and the work of over a dozen puppeteers. He also returned in the 2021 reboot from director Simon McQuoid, but if you just watched Mortal Kombat 2, you may be wondering: Where's Goro?

To answer that question, we'll have to revisit 2021's Mortal Kombat and dive into the events of its sequel.

[Ed. note: Spoilers ahead for both Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat 2.]

Is Goro in Mortal Kombat 2?

I'll be blunt, the answer is no. The character never shows up in the sequel, although Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) does a pretty good job filling in as chief antagonist. As the Mortal Kombat tournament kicks off, Shao Kahn assembles a team that includes himself, his adopted daughter Kitana (Adeline Rudolph), her bodyguard Jade (Tati Gabrielle), Kitana's zombified mother (Ana Thu Nguyen), and a zombified Kung Lao (Max Huang).

Surely, there was room in the group for a Shokan, even if Goro himself wasn't available. And to be fair, he definitely wasn't because of what happened in Mortal Kombat (2021).

Wait, so what happened to Goro in Mortal Kombat (2021)?

Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a bloodied, sweaty young man wearing glowing woven armor, looks determined in Mortal Kombat 2 Image: Warner Bros. Pictures/Everett Collection

Short answer: He died. Slightly longer answer: Goro is sent after Cole Young (Lewis Tan) and his family to stop him from joining the tournament. This backfires when Cole summons a magic suit of armor that can absorb blows and amass power (yes, just like Black Panther's suit). Cole then kills Goro in what is admittedly a pretty great Fatality. Still, in hindsight, maybe killing off Goro was a mistake? Unless...

Could Goro return in Mortal Kombat 3?

Mortal Kombat 2 Image: Warner Bros. Pictures/Everett Collection

Sure, anything's possible, but the ending of Mortal Kombat 2 might provide a glimmer of hope. The movie concludes with our surviving heroes capturing Shao Kahn's sorcerer and forcing him to resurrect several of their friends. That presumably means characters that died in this movie, like Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and Cole Young, but maybe they'll also choose to bring back Goro at the same time. (Or maybe Goro will somehow hitch a ride with Cole.)

Unlikely, sure? Impossible, never.

Mortal Kombat 2 is in theaters now.

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