The 2021 reboot of Mortal Kombat (which is viewable with an HBO Max subscription) included some of the heaviest hitters from the video game franchise, including Raiden, Sonya Blade, Liu Kang and Sub-Zero. However, one notable name missing from the lineup was Hollywood star Johnny Cage, with screenwriter Greg Russo explaining that the character was left out because the movie already featured Josh Lawson’s Kano. However, with Mortal Kombat 2 set to begin filming soon, it’s been revealed which actor is being lined up to play Johnny in this continuity.
According to The Wrap, Karl Urban is in final talks to star in the sequel as Johnny Cage, who was teased at the end of Mortal Kombat through a movie poster for Citizen Cage. Assuming a deal is reached, Urban will become the third actor to play the character in a live-action movie, following Linden Ashby in 1995’s Mortal Kombat and Chris Conrad in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (which, believe it or not, does have its defenders). This would also make him the first new actor to be brought aboard Mortal Kombat 2., although officially speaking, the returning players from the first movie haven’t been unveiled yet.
Karl Urban, of course, is a man who knows his way around genre content, from playing Dr. Leonard McCoy in the Kelvin timeline-set Star Trek movies, to leading 2012’s Dredd as its eponymous protagonist, to appearing in Thor: Ragnarok as Skurge the Executioner. These days, he’s arguably best known for playing Billy Butcher in The Boys, the superhero series Amazon Prime Video subscribers have easy access to, but he was also heard last year as Jacob Holland in the Academy Award-nominated Netflix film The Sea Beast.
Since no plot details for Mortal Kombat 2 been revealed yet, we have no idea yet how Johnny Cage, whether he’s played by Urban or someone else, would fit into the story beyond being one of the protagonists recruited to protect Earthrealm from the villains who surface this time around. Still, there are quite a few facts one should know about Johnny Cage going into the sequel, and the screenwriter, Jeremy Slater, said he was looking to do the “definitive version” of the character. Josh Hartnett also one expressed interest in playing Johnny, but evidently the filmmakers decided to go in a different direction.
Simon McQuoid is returning to direct Mortal Kombat 2, and it’s rumored that the sequel’s other new characters will include Shao Kahn, Baraka, Kitana, Quan Chi and Sindel. Should any of these people, as well as Karl Urban’s casting, are confirmed, we’ll let you know. Until then, make sure you’re up to speed on the 2023 new movie releases, and also look over the most insane kills from the previous Mortal Kombat.
