Mortal Kombat 2 Reportedly Finds Its Johnny Cage With The Boys Actor
Mortal Kombat 2 is reportedly in final negotiations with The Boys actor Karl Urban to play Johnny Cage in the upcoming video game movie sequel.
With production set to begin this summer, Mortal Kombat 2 has reportedly found its Johnny Cage with The Boys star Karl Urban. The upcoming film will act as a sequel to the 2021 reboot adaptation of the beloved fighting video game series, picking up from the cliffhanger in which the heroes of Earthrealm must regroup for their next fight against sorcerer Shang Tsung and his evil forces from Outworld. Scoring better reviews than the original, Mortal Kombat was a modest box office success and an HBO Max hit, with a sequel confirmed in January 2022.
The Wrap has brought word that New Line Cinema is in final negotiations with The Boys star Karl Urban to play Johnny Cage in the upcoming Mortal Kombat 2. The casting report comes on the heels of Todd Garner revealing a recent meeting with stars Chin Han and Joe Taslim as they prepare for production on the video game movie sequel in Australia this June. At the time of writing, neither New Line nor Warner Bros. have officially confirmed the casting talks. Garner later took to Twitter sharing the casting report, seemingly giving it weight.
What Urban’s Reported Casting Means For Mortal Kombat 2’s Johnny Cage
Though he may not yet be confirmed for the role, Urban reportedly being in final talks to play Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 2 does mark an interesting choice for the Australian actor. It would not only be his first major live-action film role since the success of The Boys, but also his second attempt in the video game adaptation sphere after starring alongside Dwayne Johnson in 2005’s Doom movie, which was a critical and commercial failure upon release, but has since garnered a cult following
Urban playing Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 2 would also speak volumes for how the sequel is aiming to portray the beloved character. The 2021 reboot didn’t quite act as an origin story for its roster of game characters, but did feature a generally younger cast at the forefront, with the oldest being Kano’s Josh Lawson and Sub-Zero’s Joe Taslim at 41 and Jax’s Mehcad Brooks at 42. Though Urban’s age of 50 doesn’t put him too far past many of his potential co-stars, it could see Cage be one of the more senior members of Earthrealm’s fighters.
This wouldn’t necessarily make him the most mature, however, as Cage is well-known in the Mortal Kombat franchise for his fairly immature attitude, save for the most recent games in which his older self becomes a more serious fighter against Outworld. Given the timeline for Mortal Kombat 2’s story is currently unknown, a time jump could also help age up some of its characters, including Cage’s frequent love interest Sonya Blade, and put them all on even ground with one another.