Maybe I was a bit harsh in my first post, but...
The studio probably took a bit to much hay on their fork and got over-budget. Or they couldn't develop something presentable in the time they had, or maybe both...
Production of a game like this would cost tons of money, everyone needs to get payed. Actors and film crews, programmers, 3d artists, etc - it's a big list. Delevering a quality game (having films like 300 and UMK3 gameplay as a my standard

), takes a lot of time and effort, thus big bucks.
After the Midway takeover, WB and NRS couldn't take the chance releasing a (sorry guys,) third grade, to early released game next to the MK9 release. WB needed to break even and make profit through NRS.
I truly hope that a new, digitized MK will see daylight. But I have my standards, and cheap ass action movie style isn't one of them. The good thing is, WB
broke even, so maybe there is hope for this IP. But I guess they'll focus on a release of a new 3D MK first, because MK9 layed golden eggs last months.
I am already glad with the release of MKAK, finally we can all play the old games together. Hopefully it will be Third Strike Online grade, but I don't think that will happen - the 10 dollar price tag makes up for that.