Larry Kasanoff explained several aspects of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation’s troubled production, starting with his decision to promote John R. Leonetti, the director of photography from the first film, to the director's chair. Kasanoff mentioned that he wanted to keep the team together after the success of the first movie, saying, "We had a good relationship, and we worked so well on the first one that we just tried to keep it all in the family." However, in hindsight, he recognized that promoting the crew members too quickly may not have been the best decision: "We promoted everyone over and above—and too quickly from what we should have. This, in hindsight, was not the best thing I did."

Regarding Christopher Lambert’s absence as Raiden, Kasanoff explained that there were financial and scheduling conflicts: "Christopher was on another movie, and in some cases, New Line didn’t want to pay the actors what they wanted or what they were contractually obligated for... We desperately wanted Chris in the movie, but his schedule and money prevented that, which was not his fault at all."

Kasanoff also discussed how the film's special effects were unfinished due to the rushed production schedule. He admitted: "The effects in that movie are not the final effects... We never finished that movie. But the studio said, 'we don’t care'. We sacrificed quality for business."

He reflected on missed opportunities, stating that they should have done reshoots to fix plot holes and improve the film: "What we should have done is say, 'let’s go back to Thailand for a week, go back to Jordan for a week, and then shoot in the studio for two weeks and add this much in effects. No problem.' But the studio had a release date and they promised theaters they could have the Mortal Kombat movie."

Kasanoff concluded that delaying the film by six months could have resulted in a much better movie, potentially bringing back Christopher Lambert and other cast members: "I should have insisted that we wait. Not wait years, but six months later. We could have Christopher back... and it would have been a much better movie."