We’ve known for some time that the Mortal Kombat sequel is in development at New Line , and now The Wrap is reporting the first casting news: Karl Urban is reportedly in final talks to play Johnny Cage .
Action movie star, Johnny Cage is one of the historical characters of the video game, already present in the first chapter. He is characterized as stylish and a bit of a braggart, but also endowed with charm and sympathy. He is part of the champions of the Earth, so he is one of the “good guys”. The post-credits scene hinted that Cage would be introduced in the sequel, much to the delight of fans.
Having a charismatic actor like Karl Urban would be a coup for the production. Urban is highly regarded for his role as Billy Butcher in The Boys , but his experience in the action-adventure genres also includes Ghost Ship, The Chronicles of Riddick, The Bourne Supremacy, Doom, Pathfinder, Star Trek, RED, Priest, Dredd and Thor: Ragnarok . Additionally, he played Eomer in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Return of the King .
Director Simon McQuoid will also return for Mortal Kombat 2 (unofficial title), and stated that Johnny Cage could not find space in the first film, being too important a character. In the second chapter, however, he will be able to dedicate the right screen time to him . The script, as we know, will be by Jeremy Slater , showrunner of The Umbrella Academy and head writer of Moon Knight .
The cast
In the cast of the first chapter include Lewis Tan ( Cole Young ), Ludi Lin (Liu Kang), Jessica McNamee (Sonya Blade), Josh Lawson (Kano) , Joe Taslim (Sub-Zero), Mehcad Brooks (Jackson “Jax” Briggs) , Max Huang (Kung Lao ), Sisi Stringer (Mileena), Chin Han (Shang Tsung), Hiroyuki Sanada (Scorpion) and Tadanobu Asano (Raiden) . We don’t know what other characters will be introduced in the sequel, aside from Johnny Cage .