Watch Order (by Continuity)Recommended
0 / 10 watchedContinuity by continuity, release order inside each one.
Original era (1995-1998)
- 1 Mortal Kombat
- 2 Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm 13-episode animated series. Optional.
- 3 Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
- 4 Mortal Kombat: Conquest 22-episode TV prequel. Optional.
Animated Legends (2020-2023)
- 5 Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge
- 6 Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms
- 7 Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind
- 8 Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match Standalone Johnny Cage prequel.
Reboot era (2021-)
- 9 Mortal Kombat 2021 reboot. Fresh canon, no homework needed.
- 10 Mortal Kombat II Released May 8, 2026. Johnny Cage joins the tournament.
About Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat on screen comes in three separate piles that never connect, and mixing them up is the main way newcomers get confused. The 1990s films follow Liu Kang and Sonya against Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn. The Legends animated films retell game storylines with hard-R violence. The 2021 reboot starts over with Cole Young and Johnny Cage.
Each pile works on its own, so the sensible path is one continuity at a time rather than strict release order across all of them. Start with whichever era appeals: the 1995 original for nostalgia, Legends: Scorpion's Revenge for the games' plot at its best, or the 2021 film leading into Mortal Kombat II (2026) for the current run.
Good to know
The 1990s TV shows are the easiest thing to skip: Defenders of the Realm is a loose kids' cartoon and Conquest is a prequel that the films ignore. Within Legends, watch in release order, since Battle of the Realms continues Scorpion's Revenge directly. Cage Match is a standalone 1980s Hollywood prequel and can go last. The 2021 reboot and its sequel are a fresh canon, so no older film is homework for them.
