After the success of last year's Mortal Kombat feature film in theatres and streaming -- it comes as little surprise that a sequel to the franchise reboot is moving forward. New reports have stirred interest, reaffirming Simon McQuoid as returning director. Read on:

Deadline reports the slightly underwhelming news of a sequel moving forward at New Line, with sources informing them Simon McQuoid will again return to helm a follow-up installment. Jeremy Slater (Marvel's Moon Knight) joins as new writer seeking to learn lessons from the first film to deliver a "satisfying" second go around.

[Related Article: Mortal Kombat Aims to Embrace Weird Universe in Movie Sequel]

The Australian commercial director was first publicly attached to the video game series in late 2016, enduring a prolonged five year phase of development with high-profile producer James Wan before making his theatrical directing debut. Wan remarked upon the many creative & business trials of reviving the series, in 2018.

Mortal Kombat has continued to be an internal engagement ratings benchmark for streaming service HBO Max, while also outperforming expectations with a modest theatrical outing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite significant interest in Mortal Kombat's return to the movies twenty-four years after Mortal Kombat: Annihilation -- and publicly promised aspirations to "do it right" -- the finished product proved controversial with die-hard fans of the franchise who balked at its many deviations from firmly established lore. The reboot drew surprising comparisons to its notorious 1997 predecessor.

The notable absence of Johnny Cage from the pre-tournament plotline has led to several noteworthy submissions from interested actors, while Simon McQuoid himself has discussed potential for a sequel laden with new and returning characters.

[Related Articles: Mortal Kombat Producer on Johnny Cage & Rain Omissions]

Are you excited for the return of Simon McQuoid as director? What do you hope to see from a sequel movie? Share your thoughts in the comments below and go deeper into movies in the Media & Merchandise forum!

Raiden has been an icon of the series since its arcade inception, but fans who discovered Mortal Kombat through home ports to popular gaming consoles, the 1995 feature film, or other licensed media of the nineties, came to know the thunder god by a slightly different name -- and it seems one of his co-creators was not happy with the change!

"Rayden" was the phonetically appropriate alternate spelling adopted by Acclaim Entertainment -- responsible for distributing the games to Sega, Nintendo, and other consoles -- and other multimedia licensors, such as Threshold Entertainment, who produced MK films, live-action television, and cartoons.

The change famously avoided potential conflict with 1990 Tecmo scrolling shoot 'em up Raiden, while also bringing the character's name in line with common pronunciation distinct from its origins in Japanese mythology.

For series co-creator Ed Boon, the alteration was always "overly cautious" and the developer ultimately rejected requests to align arcade versions with the tweak. He described his "hate" for the alternate in a recent tweet responding to MK Online affiliate tabmok99's fan video on the subject (embedded below).

I always (as in ALWAYS) hated seeing Raiden’s name spelled with a Y. I remember arguing with Acclaim about their (overly cautious) decision to change the spelling…. andrefusing to change ours when they asked us to… to be consistent. Such a bad decision. ????????

— Ed Boon (@noobde) July 17, 2022

The multimedia exposure of the "Rayden" spelling meant it far outnumbered its arcade inspiration, but with Mortal Kombat 4 [pictured below] and subsequent installments, the source material has become the dominant example, reinstating the character's name as originally intended and rendering "Rayden" a curiosity of the past.

Its been almost thirty years since Carlos Pesina embodied the thunderer for the original game. Watch how his iconic headwear caused difficulties in archival footage from filming sessions recently unearthed from Ed Boon's personal collection.

Did Raiden's name ever cause any confusion for you? Did you mistake him for Fatal Fury or Metal Gear characters? Share your thoughts in the comments below and go deeper into retro in the 2D Kombat Klassics forum as we count down to the 30th Anniversary of Mortal Kombat!