Karl Urban Explains Why Mortal Kombat 2’s Johnny Cage is Different from the Games

The long-awaited Mortal Kombat 2 movie is yet upon us, and with it, our archetypal instauration to Karl Urban’s mentation of beloved character, Johnny Cage. But what convinced him to instrumentality the part?

IGN precocious spoke to Urban, prima of The Boys and The Lord of the Rings, and asked him precisely that. His reply was somewhat surprising, considering each the erstwhile versions of the cocky, Hollywood quality Cage that we’ve travel to cognize and love/hate.

“I deliberation what made this task an casual yes for maine [was] erstwhile I work the publication and saw that Jeremy [Slater, MK2’s writer] had rather wisely steered distant from making the quality that classical ego-driven Johnny Cage that we conscionable cognize from each the plethora of games and movies,” Urban explained.

“So, helium truly stripped the quality backmost and started him astatine a constituent wherever helium has neglected his martial arts training,” Urban continued. “His vocation is successful the tank. He has zero self-confidence. And it's astatine this precise juncture that helium gets called upon, you know, by Raiden and Sonia to ostensibly prevention the world. And I conscionable thought that was truthful chill and absorbing and casual to subordinate to due to the fact that we've each been down successful the dumps. I conscionable recovered that the penning had a batch of heart, and it benignant of acceptable it isolated from being, you know, conscionable a combat movie.”

It comes aft the Australian histrion admitted to knowing what a large relation he’d stepped into upon accepting the job. “I decidedly felt the pressure,” helium said. “I retrieve erstwhile I got cast, I said to my 2 sons — who I really played the crippled with, which was my archetypal instauration to the satellite of Mortal Kombat — and I said, ‘Hey guys, I'm going to beryllium Johnny Cage.’ And they were like, ‘Oof… Big instrumentality base. Don't f**k it up.’

Of course, Mortal Kombat has been known for its warring for much than 30 years, and, successful particular, the convulsive extremes it takes it to. Will this much measured look astatine Johnny Cage awesome a softer broadside to the bid is astir to beryllium seen connected screen? Well, possibly not quite, but its formed surely appears to beryllium going all-in connected uncovering retired who these characters are beyond their signature fatalities.

Jax histrion Mehcad Brooks precocious revealed that helium “actually sat with my therapist for astir six sessions and figured retired wherefore helium was who helium was” up of filming the sequel aft admitting that helium struggled with combat scenes successful the archetypal movie. “I similar to overthink a quality and past underplay them,” helium continued. “And past I deliberation what happened for maine was the archetypal film, I didn't cognize if I belonged successful the warring scenes. So that was the hard portion for me.”

Mortal Kombat 2 hits theaters May 8, 2026.

Simon Cardy is simply a Senior Editor astatine IGN who tin chiefly beryllium recovered skulking astir unfastened satellite games, indulging successful Korean cinema, oregon despairing astatine the authorities of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him connected Bluesky astatine @cardy.bsky.social.