Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter: A Cinematic Rivalry

Key Highlights

• Upcoming Releases: Mortal Kombat II is set to debut in theaters on May 8, while Street Fighter will follow on October 16.
• Event Appearance: The Street Fighter cast made a surprise appearance at The Game Awards, contrasting with Mortal Kombat‘s absence.
• Social Media Buzz: The audience reacted to comedian Andrew Schulz’s remarks about Mortal Kombat during the show.
• Producer’s Response: Mortal Kombat II producer Todd Garner expressed hopes for both films’ success, despite Schulz’s comments.

The Game Awards had plenty of trailers, one of which was surprisingly a look at the next Street Fighter movie. And its appearance there reignited an old, long-lasting grudge match against Mortal Kombat.

See, the second Kombat movie is due out in May, but it didn’t make an appearance at the gaming ceremony. By contrast, the Street Fighter cast was there onstage, where comedian Andrew Schulz, who plays the film’s version of Dan Hibiki, threw shade at the lack of Mortal Kombat. “We’re not the only game that appreciates your patronage,” he said. “There’s another game out there, they also flew from around the world to be here because they appreciate you. So give it up for the whole cast of Mortal Kombat II!”

The audience applauded, hoping to see Karl Urban, Joe Taslim, and whoever else also come on stage, but nah, no dice. Schulz said that cast didn’t show because “they don’t care about you. They only care about money. We care about money AND you. Street Fighter FOREVER!” On the internet, social media lit up at the dig, reminding older fans of decades-old beef between the two franchises that first took hold in the 90s and still persists in some form to this day. There’ve been some years where they’ve both had a game release, like Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 releasing back in 2023. While the former is in its third year of post-launch DLC, Netherrealm ceased development on Kombat 1 earlier in 2025 to focus on its next game.

Not everyone dug Schulz’s gag, though. Mortal Kombat II producer Todd Garner wrote that unlike the Fighter film’s star, he “[doesn’t] climb over others to get ahead,” but later added that he hopes for both movies to be “huge.” (He also indicated marketing for his film will ramp up in the near future, which so far has just been that first trailer, a featurette from New York Comic-Con, and footage from that same panel only for those in attendance.) Will that include some dig at the competition? We’ll have to wait to find out.

I don’t climb over others to get ahead.

— Todd Garner (@Todd_Garner) December 12, 2025

Mortal Kombat II hits theaters on May 8, followed by Street Fighter on October 16.

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