Although Shao Kahn is currently being touted as Mortal Kombat 2's potential big bad, Quan Chi is the villain the reboot sequel deserves. Following Mortal Kombat 2021's record-breaking streaming performance on HBO Max, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. have officially announced that Mortal Kombat 2 is in the production pipeline. While much of Mortal Kombat 2's plot remains shrouded in mystery, the reboot sequel is confirmed to be focussing on the 10th Mortal Kombat tournament and will introduce a cadre of new villains for Earthrealm's champions to battle.
Mortal Kombat 2021 ends in an unofficial victory for Earthrealm, with Lord Raiden's (Tadanobu Asano) chosen warriors unlocking their respective Arcanas and defeating many of Outworld's fighters. However, this victory will prove short-lived in Mortal Kombat 2, with the sorcerer Shang Tsung (Chin Han) vowing to return to the 10th Mortal Kombat with an even more fearsome array of evil-aligned allies. Mortal Kombat 2021's natural sequel setup has led to rife speculation regarding exactly which Outworld villains will feature in Mortal Kombat 2, with Outworld emperor Shao Kahn topping many fanbases wish-lists. Even Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon has put his highly-influential cards on the table by touting Dwayne Johnson for the role of Shao Kahn via Twitter.
Yet despite the hype surrounding Shao Kahn's entry into the rebooted Mortal Kombat franchise, the demon sorcerer Quan Chi would deliver far more menace and narrative stakes to Mortal Kombat 2 if selected. Mortal Kombat 2's best future lies with Quan Chi, given his canonical relationship with Shang Tsung. The pair's diabolical plots and deeds over the course of the Mortal Kombat video game series are by far the most threatening to Earthrealm, making Quan Chi the real villain Mortal Kombat 2 deserves after its explosive re-entry into contemporary culture.
While Shao Kahn is certainly a threatening figure and was already teased in Mortal Kombat 2021 via Raiden's temple art, his character's story is rather linear, quickly fizzling out before his canonical death in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. It is no coincidence that it is Quan Chi who, alongside Shang Tsung, kills the Outworld emperor in Deadly Alliance, kickstarting Chi's Mortal Kombat career as one of the franchise's greatest threats. Whereas Shao Kahn seeks dominion over all realms as a largely run-of-the-mill final boss, Quan Chi's duplicitous nature and despicable actions make him a far more terrifying, and therefore compelling, threat in the Mortal Kombat series.
As a result, Quan Chi is the far superior choice to be Mortal Kombat 2's main threat alongside Shang Tsung. The pair's schemes act as the perfect springboard for the Mortal Kombat sequel's plot, with their plan to resurrect an undead army by using Shang Tsung's collection of souls just one of many narrative options here. Mortal Kombat 2021 already establishes it did not plan to play by the Mortal Kombat franchise's rules, choosing to omit the official tournament and refresh several iconic characters' backstories. In this way, the best thing Mortal Kombat 2 can do is install Quan Chi as the film's greatest threat and build on Mortal Kombat 2021's originality and impact in successfully translating a beloved video game franchise to the big screen.