Mortal Kombat 2 films this summer
The next Mortal Kombat movie appears to have found its Johnny Cage. Actor Karl Urban, known for his roles in Dredd, Thor: Ragnarok, Star Trek, and The Boys, is reportedly in “final talks” to play Cage in director Simon McQuoid’s sequel to 2021’s Mortal Kombat, according to The Wrap. A tweet from Mortal Kombat movie producer Todd Garner appears to all but confirm that casting choice.
Mortal Kombat 2 is set to film this summer in Australia, McQuoid and Urban’s home country. Actors Chin Han and Joe Taslim are set to return as Shang Tsung and Sub-Zero/Bi-Han, according to Garner. (Bi-Han was supposedly fatally toasted by Scorpion in the previous Mortal Kombat, but Taslim could be playing the film’s version of Noob Saibot or another version of Sub-Zero.)
Johnny Cage’s appearance in the Mortal Kombat sequel was teased in the final moments of the first film. In a post-credits scene, Cole Young (Lewis Tan) sets off for Hollywood to recruit more fighters for the impending Mortal Kombat tournament and the film ends on a shot of a movie poster for Citizen Cage, an action flick starring Johnny Cage.
Urban certainly has the chops to portray Cage, typically presented as a smarmy Hollywood action star with a goofy demeanor. Whether he’s flexible enough to perform Cage’s signature split punch is a different story.
The original incarnation of Johnny Cage was portrayed by martial artist Daniel Pesina and inspired by actor Jean-Claude Van Damme’s turn as Frank Dux in the movie Bloodsport. Actor Linden Ashby brought Cage to live action in the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie. The character was subsequently played by Chris Conrad (Mortal Kombat Annihilation), Matt Mullins (Mortal Kombat Legacy season 1), and Casper Van Dien (Mortal Kombat Legacy season 2). Animated versions of Cage have been voiced by Jeff Bennett (Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins) and Joel McHale (Mortal Kombat Legends).
Mortal Kombat 2 is written by Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight), but other details — including release date and the sequel’s remaining cast — have not been announced. Plenty of kombatants, including Kano, Mileena, Goro, and Kabal, were killed in the first film, but death has rarely been an impediment in the Mortal Kombat universe.
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