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The first trailer for Mortal Kombat 2 puts Karl Urban's Johnny Cage front-and-center. And while fans may have noticed that there's a slight shift in focus from the first film to Mortal Kombat 2's Johnny Cage-centric story, Urban assures IGN that the sequel is a "significant level-up," comparing it to one of the greatest sequel films of all time.
"I think Mortal Kombat II is to Mortal Kombat what The Road Warrior is to Mad Max," Urban says. "I think that everybody across the board has leveled up in a significant way right across the entire production. And I think this representation of this world and these characters is the best we've seen. And I'm super excited for an audience to see it. As you've seen from the trailer itself … it looks like a significant level-up."
According to the star, he was "very proactive" about seeking the role. As it turns out, Urban loves playing Mortal Kombat - primarily by losing to his more video game savvy kids. There will be a bit of that self-deprecating charm in his performance as Cage, which Urban says is all about seeing Johnny "evolve and grow."
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"When we first discover Johnny, he is sort of lacking a lot of that quintessential spark that I think fans of the game will know," Urban explains. "We start him at a very low point. His career is completely in the dumps. He has no self-confidence. He has neglected his martial arts training."
"And at his lowest point, he gets called up to, essentially, be a warrior that represents the Earthrealm and fight for the very future of humanity," Urban continues. "We start this character in one place, and as an audience, we get to see him evolve and grow. And he certainly does that as he gains his confidence and gains his belief in his self, [and] some of that sort of cockiness and swagger starts to come through."
Mortal Kombat 2 is hitting cinemas on October 24, 2025. For more, check out the rest of this year's unmissable movie release dates.
I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011, and now I'm the Entertainment Writer at GamesRadar+. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)
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