- calendar_today September 3, 2025
Karl Urban Brings Raw Charisma to Johnny Cage in MK II
Karl Urban is trading his red Butcher’s coat for some stylish shades in the upcoming Mortal Kombat II. The Lord of the Rings and Star Trek alum will play the character of Johnny Cage, a brash and confident martial arts action star who is a fan favorite in the long-running video game series. The sequel to Warner Bros.’ 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot will be the fourth live-action film in the franchise after the first live-action Mortal Kombat movie debuted in 1995.
A fake in-universe trailer for an ’80s/’90s style action movie Uncaged Fury, “starring” Johnny Cage dropped from Warner Bros. one day before Mortal Kombat II’s official trailer. The parody trailer makes self-aware nods to Cage’s other fictional film titles, which include Hard to Cage, Cool Hand Cage, and Rebel Without a Cage.
2025 is also the 30th anniversary of the first live-action Mortal Kombat, a box office success and enduring cult classic despite receiving negative reviews from critics at the time of its release. Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa’s performance as sorcerer Shang Tsung is still considered by many to be the standard for that character. The first film’s 1997 sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, was an even more complete disaster, tanking with critics and at the box office, while the game’s publisher, Midway would go bankrupt in the months following its release.
Warner Bros. would later acquire the rights to the franchise and hired Simon McQuoid to direct a reboot over two decades after the original film first hit theaters. The 2021 reboot Mortal Kombat introduced Lewis Tan as Cole Young, an MMA fighter thrust into a war between different realms when he’s caught between inter-dimensional conflict for Earthrealm. The film received mixed reviews, but performed well enough at the box office to warrant a sequel, also with McQuoid behind the camera. The first film ended with Cole Young making his way to Los Angeles to recruit the help of Johnny Cage, which is where Mortal Kombat II picks up.
The official synopsis for Mortal Kombat II doesn’t do much in the way of introduction or exposition. It’s meant for audiences already familiar with the events of the first film, or at the very least with the game franchise. This time around, the champions are joined by Cage as they square off in an all-out, no-holds-barred fight to try and prevent Shao Kahn from invading and conquering Earthrealm. The new synopsis teases that the stakes are higher than ever before, with Earthrealm itself now at risk.
Returning cast members from the first film include Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han/Noob Saibot (a.k.a. Sub-Zero), Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Josh Lawson as Kano, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Mehcad Brooks as Jax Briggs, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao.
New characters and actors introduced in the sequel are Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Damon Herriman, who voiced the character Kabal in the first film will now play Quan Chi, Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn, CJ Bloomfield as Baraka, Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod, and Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel.
Lord Raiden and Sonya Blade soon bust in and interrupt Cage’s performance-cum-pity party. “You have been chosen to fight,” Raiden tells the character. Cage thinks the two are just taking their fandom a bit too far, but is soon spirited away to an otherworldly coliseum-type venue to compete in what he’s told is a “fighting tournament to the death.” Predictably, his response is an emphatic “F— that.”
Cage quickly points out that he “doesn’t have any powers,” which seems to be factoring into his decision not to fight. Cage points out that his only advantage is that he’s “just incredibly handsome.” He reluctantly agrees to fight when he learns the fate of Earthrealm is on the line, but does specify that his opponents should not damage his face in the process. From that point on, the trailer is exactly what Mortal Kombat fans would expect. Blood-spattering, hyper-stylized combat, signature finishing moves, and classic video game catchphrases such as Scorpion’s now-iconic “Get over here!”
Mortal Kombat II will premiere in theaters on October 24, 2025.
