Mortal Kombat is a franchise that keeps enduring because it’s honestly rather easy to make new stuff for it, and its concept (Koncept?) can be easily adapted to other properties, including live-action movies. There were two films in the 90s (with the first being the better of the two…by far), and then in the 2020s, they did a modern-day reboot. It did well enough in theaters and on Max, and now, we’re getting ever closer to the release of Mortal Kombat 2. In a special first look with Entertainment Weekly, not only did we get to see new looks at characters like Kitana and Shao Khan, but we learned that Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage will be one of the true focal points of the film.
One of the people most excited about this is series co-creator Ed Boon, who heads up NetherRealm Studios, which makes the MK games. In the chat with EW, he noted:
“You finally get to see Johnny Cage. His integration into the Mortal Kombat story and universe is a big part of what this movie explores. He’s a washed-up Hollywood guy thrown into this magical, ultra-violent thing. Karl, his depiction of Johnny Cage is different than our games in some ways. He’s adding his own flare to it, but I think it’ll feel fresh. There’s like a novelty factor in there.”
That being said, director Simon McQuoid noted that Urban helps bring a bunch of depth to the role:
“We wanted a character that wasn’t just completely silly, comic book…It’s a character that could instantly go there and become too light and throwaway if we were to lean too much into the kind of cheese. The casting of Karl Urban for that role allowed that character to have more depth.”
Speaking of depth, Mortal Kombat 2 will feature a true tournament to decide the fate of Earthrealm, and Boon makes it clear that this will be a true tournament:
“They keep score throughout the movie. There’s a visual representation of who is winning…. It’s not just a tournament for the sake of a tournament. There are huge consequences, so you really are keeping score. And there are a lot of twists in it that keep you on your toes.”
The film drops on October 24th.
