Mortal Kombat: Legacy's long-unseen season 3, Mortal Kombat X: Generations, should finally be released after years seemingly stuck in Development Hell. The fan favorite series deserves to be put out, Warner Bros. need the fresh content and fans also deserve the reward of a new season while waiting for the Mortal Kombat movie.
Beginning as Mortal Kombat: Rebirth in 2010, the short film was the first indication in years of there being any new adaptation of the popular fighting game franchise following 1997's disastrous Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. This led to the web-series Mortal Kombat: Legacy, with Rebirth director Kevin Tancheron returning to direct both seasons.
Though a third chapter, Mortal Kombat X: Generations, was produced under the direction of veteran stunt coordinator Garrett Warren, it has never seen the light of day, with the reasoning behind this remaining a major question mark. Fans of the games have good reason to look forward to the upcoming R-rated reboot Mortal Kombat, but it would also be a wise move for Warner Bros. to finally release Generations.
What Mortal Kombat Legacy Season 3 Is About
Judging by the completely new cast and character roster of the IMDB page of Generations, how directly it follows on the first two seasons isn't clear, especially with the cliffhanger ending of season 2 showing Liu Kang and Kung Lao preparing to fight. With that being said, Casper Van Dien, who played Johnny Cage in season 2, did return, and this could suggest that the series may have gone back to the anthology approach of season 1. The title and character list also points to it relating to 2015's Mortal Kombat X in some way. Nevertheless, the prospect of Generations actually being released would doubtlessly be greeted enthusiastically by Mortal Kombat fans.
Why Mortal Kombat Legacy Season 3 Should Be Released
From a business standpoint, it'd be a win right off the bat. Though movie and television productions are finally getting underway again, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are certainly far from over. Mortal Kombat itself was among the productions lucky enough to wrap-up prior to the pandemic, but Warner Bros. still needs fresh content to sustain them for the foreseeable future - and Generations offers exactly that.
Of course, the larger issue may be Warner Bros. being reluctant to undermine the Mortal Kombat reboot, but their unfolding Multiverse of DC movies and TV shows has demonstrated that audiences are fully prepared to embrace multiple versions of a given property. Arguing for that point is the fact that Lewis Tan portrayed Kung Jin in Generations (Tan having even tweeted out an image lamenting it not being released), and will be seen in the reboot as well in an undisclosed role. Furthermore, Mortal Kombat being delayed from its current January 15, 2021 release date would be far from surprising at this point and even absent the pandemic, this would probably be a wise move anyway, January hardly being the ideal release window for such a major tentpole. Generations offers a built-in mechanism to mitigate the effects of such a delay, with a never-before-seen slew of new Mortal Kombat action and fatalities.
With what promises to be a long and complex road to recovery from the effects of the pandemic, the film industry will surely need to think outside of its usual business model. In the case of Warner Bros., the studio has an unreleased season of a web-series based on a highly popular IP just waiting to be set loose. The Mortal Kombat fanbase already has their sights justifiably set on the 2021 reboot, but more stories in the battle of the realms certainly wouldn't hurt. Though it's been a long time coming, the time has come to finally unleash Mortal Kombat X: Generations for the world to see.
