New 'Mortal Kombat 2' Image Welcomes Johnny Cage to the Fight

The Big Picture

• Mortal Kombat 2 has the potential to be a better movie than the first entry, following the recent successful video game adaptation trend.
• Johnny Cage will be present for the sequel, which should add a bit of humor to the story.
• The film will likely feature the title tournament and focus on the new and more exciting characters.

Over the past month, as filming continues on Mortal Kombat 2, producer Todd Garner has been teasing the characters that we’ll see in the sequel on social media. The filmmaker has been posting images that either clearly reveal or merely tease the fighters he’s excited about. This time, however, there’s no mistaking who he’s teasing because his name is written all over it: Johnny Cage – who will be played by none other than Karl Urban from the hit series, The Boys.

The newly-released image shows a belt with the character's last name written in huge letters – which is also a nice attention to detail from the costume department, because Johnny Cage is known in the Mortal Kombat franchise as a self-absorbed person who loves to toot his own horn. So, a belt with his name engraved on it is 100% on brand with the personality of the movie star-turned fighter — not to mention that his presence should add a bit of humor to the story.

So far, Garner has already teased the presence of Scorpion (HIruyoki Sanada), Shao Khan (Martyn Ford), Princess Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and to fans' immense surprise, Quan Chi (Damon Herriman). Not by chance, the producer selected beloved characters to excite Mortal Kombat fans even more hyped up for the sequel. The story is largely still being kept under wraps, but it’s pretty safe to say that the title tournament will be featured in some form throughout the movie – or maybe even in its entirety. Once again, the story should follow original character Cole Young (Lewis Tan), who’s unveiling the mystery of his ancestry.

'Mortal Kombat 2' Can Help Video Game Adaptations' Track Record

Mortal Kombat 2 has the potential of being a far superior movie than the first entry. With plenty of examples of video game adaptations that worked over the last couple of years, the production team could take some cues as to what might work in an adaptation. They’ll also need to find the correct balance between what fans want to see and how to use the thematic potential and lore to its fullest, just like The Last of Us and The Super Mario Bros. Movie did.

Once again, director Simon McQuoid sits in the director’s chair to lead the production, while the screenplay this time is penned by Jeremy Slater – who is no stranger to adaptations: He developed The Umbrella Academy for Netflix, as well as Moon Knight for Marvel Studios. On the other hand, Slater also co-wrote the script for Death Note, which is widely considered one of the worst anime adaptations that Netflix has ever done. As such, it remains to be seen how the sequel will turn out for the fan-favorite franchise.

Mortal Kombat is yet to get a release date. Check out the new image below and stay tuned to Collider for updates.

Mortal Kombat 2021

MMA fighter Cole Young seeks out Earth's greatest champions in order to stand against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe.

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