"Mortal Kombat II" Trailer: Karl Urban Joins the Fray as Action Star Johnny Cage in This Bone-Crunching Sequel to the 2021 Reboot with Tadanobu Asano and Hiroyuki Sanada
With sunglasses, sass, and serious fists of fury, Johnny Cage (Urban) enters the tournament for a comeback with cosmic consequences in this action-packed sequel.
The world-famous action star Johnny Cage is about to explode on screen like never before. The question is, is the world ready to uncage the most egotistical, high-kicking, sunglasses-wearing movie star-slash-martial-arts-legend we’ve ever seen?
If you thought Hollywood was filled with a bunch of blowhards and egomaniacs, well, Johnny Cage will not only prove it... he’ll guarantee it! But he also has the fighting skills to back up his big mouth… and even bigger ego.
And it seems the Mortal Kombat tournament will never be the same once Cage steps into the arena. The only problem? This ain't no movie set. So, the blood, bruises, and broken bones are all too real. And the only breaks for lunch here are when Cage gets to kill his opponent before noon... that is, if he’s still breathing and still standing when the dust settles.
Karl Urban, who’s been doing a bang-up job playing anti-supe vigilante Billy Butcher in the hit series The Boys, joins the cast of the upcoming sequel to the 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot—which, despite being released during the height of the pandemic and lockdowns, did fairly well... at least well enough to warrant a second go-around.
The Kiwi actor, who isn’t shy about joining well-known franchises—after having played Bones aka Dr. Leonard McCoy in the Star Trek reboot film series and famously donning the Judge Dredd helmet in the beloved 2012 reboot Dredd (C’mon, we need a sequel for that, right!)—is now tasked with putting on some nice designer sunglasses and slick blonde highlights to portray none other than Johnny Cage in the upcoming Mortal Kombat II.
For the uninitiated, Johnny Cage is one of the most iconic characters in the Mortal Kombat video game franchise on which the film is based. Cage is known for his cocky Hollywood star persona, flashy fighting style, and witty one-liners. Said to be heavily inspired by ‘80s and ‘90s action icon Jean-Claude Van Damme, Cage is a world-famous action movie star who ends up entering the ancient supernatural Mortal Kombat tournament (a fight-to-the-death contest) to prove his skills are real and not just special effects.
In this film version, it seems Urban’s Johnny Cage is entering the later stage of his career—one where everyone used to know his name, but now only remember his films from a different era. Cage himself is grappling with his status as a once-iconic ‘90s action hero, now a washed-up movie star secretly hoping for a comeback... or at the very least, to star in a halfway decent reboot of his classic films.
In the newly released trailer for Mortal Kombat II (watch it above), we see Cage packing up his car with old memorabilia and signed movie posters from his glory days when he’s suddenly visited by Lord Raiden and Sonya Blade—played by returning cast members Tadanobu Asano and Jessica McNamee.
Raiden (It’s cool to see Asano again after his stunning, knockout performance in the Emmy-winning series Shogun) informs Cage that he’s been chosen to fight in the Mortal Kombat tournament.
“Tell me you’re not some crazy fans,” Urban’s Cage quips, just before Raiden lights up the underground parking lot with a crackling display of blue lightning.
Cage is soon whisked away and thrust into a celestial realm, far from the comforts of Hollywood, to prepare for his fights. He’s quickly brought up to speed: the balance of the universe is on the line... and if they lose, it will mean total annihilation of Earth and everything in it. And yes, including his chance at a proper Hollywood comeback.
Also returning to the cast for this sequel are:
Shogun Emmy-winner Hiroyuki Sanada back as Scorpion
Josh Lawson as Kano
Mehcad Brooks as Jax
Ludi Lin as Liu Kang
Chin Han as Shang Tsung
Joe Taslim as Bi-Han/Noob Saibot
Max Huang as Kung Lao
Lewis Tan as Cole Young
Meanwhile, joining the cast are:
Adeline Rudolph (Hellboy: The Crooked Man) as Kitana
Tati Gabrielle (The Last of Us) as Jade
Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel
CJ Bloomfield (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) as Baraka
Martyn Ford (F9) as Shao Kahn
Damon Herriman (Justified) as Quan Chi
Australian commercial helmer Simon McQuoid, who made his feature directorial debut with the 2021 Mortal Kombat film, is back to call the shots, working from a script penned by Jeremy Slater (MCU’s Moon Knight, Coyote vs. Acme).
Mortal Kombat II is slated to open in theaters on October 24th.
Also check out this newly-released promo spoof for Johnny Cage’s latest action film “Uncaged Fury”:
Also check out the cast’s reactions to the trailer:
Official Synopsis:
From New Line Cinema comes the latest high-stakes installment in the blockbuster video game franchise in all its brutal glory, Mortal Kombat II. This time, the fan favorite champions—now joined by Johnny Cage himself—are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.
