The next Mortal Kombat movie seems to have found its Johnny Cage. Actor Karl Urban, known for his roles in Dredd, Thor: Ragnarok, Star TrekAnd The boysis reportedly in “final talks” to play Cage in director Simon McQuoid’s 2021 sequel Mortal Kombataccording to The cover. a tweet from Mortal Kombat film producer Todd Garner almost seems to confirm that casting choice.
Mortal Kombat 2 will be filming this summer in Australia, the homeland of McQuoid and Urban. Actors Chin Han and Joe Taslim return as Shang Tsung and Sub-Zero/Bi-Han, according to Garner. (Bi-Han is said to have been fatally roasted by Scorpion in the previous time Mortal Kombatbut Taslim could play the movie version of Noob Saibot or any other 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) leaves for Hollywood to recruit more fighters for the approaching Mortal Kombat tournament and the film ends with a movie poster shot for citizen cagean action movie starring Johnny Cage.
Urban certainly has the chops to portray Cage, usually presented as a scheming Hollywood action star with a goofy attitude. Whether he’s flexible enough to pull off Cage’s signature split punch is another story.
The original incarnation of Johnny Cage was played by martial artist Daniel Pesina and inspired by actor Jean-Claude Van Damme’s turn as Frank Dux in the film Blood sports. Actor Linden Ashby brought Cage to life in the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie. The character was then played by Chris Conrad (Mortal Kombat Destruction), Matt Mullins (Mortal Kombat legacy season 1), and Casper Van Dien (Mortal Kombat legacy season 2). Animated versions of Cage are voiced by Jeff Bennett (Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins) and Joel McHale (Mortal Kombat Legends).
Mortal Kombat 2 was written by Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight), but other details, including the sequel’s release date and remaining cast, have not been revealed. Many combatants, including Kano, Mileena, Goro, and Kabal, were killed in the first movie, but death has rarely been a hindrance in the Mortal Kombat universe.