- calendar_today September 3, 2025
Mortal Kombat Sequel Brings Cage Back Into the Spotlight
Karl Urban is trading in his Boys coat and butcher apron for a pair of designer shades in the new Mortal Kombat II. The Lord of the Rings and Star Trek alum is taking on the role of cocky martial arts star Johnny Cage, a popular character among fans of the long-running video game franchise. The film follows Warner Bros.’ 2021 reboot and is the fourth live-action film in the series since the original Mortal Kombat hit theaters in 1995.
The trailer’s release date is a sly little bit of product placement—it dropped one day after Warner Bros. released a fake in-universe trailer for Uncaged Fury, a total cheese-fest of an ’90s-style action flick “starring” Johnny Cage. That fake trailer was filled with knowing nods to the other fake film credits Cage has accrued over the years, such as Cool Hand Cage, Hard to Cage, and Rebel Without a Cage.
2025 is also the 30th anniversary of the first live-action Mortal Kombat. Released on a wave of hype after the video game’s success and home video’s rise to cultural dominance, Mortal Kombat was a huge hit with audiences despite its reviews at the time. The film, in which Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa’s performance as sorcerer Shang Tsung remains iconic among fans, is now considered a cult classic. Its sequel, 1997’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, bombed both with fans and at the box office, and the game’s publisher, Midway, went bankrupt in its wake.
After other studios picked the rights up and over again, Warner Bros. gave a reboot shot to director Simon McQuoid, nearly two decades after the first film. Introducing Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, the 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot launched a new chapter in the video game franchise, focusing on Young’s conflict between his actual fighting career and being the secret warrior Earthrealm needs. The film received mixed reviews but was a modest success, earning a sequel green light from Warner Bros. once again with McQuoid on board to direct. The first film ended with Young leaving for Los Angeles to recruit Cage, paving the way for Mortal Kombat II.
The official Mortal Kombat II synopsis leaves those who haven’t seen the first film in the dark. In the sequel, the champions, now including Cage, battle in a no-holds-barred fight to keep Shao Kahn from taking over Earthrealm, with the survival of the realm itself on the line.
Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Joe Taslim, Tadanobu Asano, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Chin Han, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Max Huang will return to reprise their roles from the first film as Cole Young, Sonya Blade, Bi-Han/Noob Saibot a.k.a. Sub-Zero, Lord Raiden, Kano, Liu Kang, Jax Briggs, Shang Tsung, Scorpion, and Kung Lao, respectively. The returning cast members are joined by new fighters Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Damon Herriman as Quan Chi (he voiced Kabal in the last film), Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn, CJ Bloomfield as Baraka, Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod, and Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel.
The trailer opens with Cage being recognized at a bar by a man in a Raptors jersey. “I loved Citizen Cage as a kid,” he says, clearly talking about the “film” star Cage. “We should reboot that!” Cage, understandably sour about the downturn in his career, replies that “nobody wants that” and that the character “died out in the ’90s.”
Enter Sonya Blade and Lord Raiden. Instead of introducing themselves, they tell Cage, “You have been chosen to fight.” He immediately assumes they’re overeager cosplayers and tells them to leave him alone before Raiden smacks him away, enraging the thunder god. Raiden and Blade regroup and tell Cage to put up his hands and focus, as his “fight is about to begin.” He looks confused until he’s whisked away to some otherworldly building, where he’s told he’s about to take part in a “fighting tournament to the death.” Cage unsurprisingly does not take that well: “F— that.”
The fighter points out that he lacks powers and abilities and that he’s “just incredibly handsome.” He changes his tune after learning he’s fighting for the fate of the realm. He does, however, negotiate with the tournament organizers to not let his opponents target his face. From there, it’s full-on Mortal Kombat madness. As to be expected, the trailer offers a ton of bloody, choreographed, hyper-stylized action, along with all the signature finishing moves and pop culture catchphrases—“Get over here!”—fans have come to expect. This new Mortal Kombat does not shy away from how absurd its original film series was. A wink and a nod at Cage’s self-awareness does not mean it is exactly willing to be a comedy either, but given how much it leans into what fans loved from the first film, it should not be too hard to sell the idea to potential new audiences.
Mortal Kombat II will be in theaters on October 24, 2025.
