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

The long-awaited Mortal Kombat 2 movie is finally upon us, and with it, our first introduction to Karl Urban’s version of beloved character, Johnny Cage. But what convinced him to take the part?

IGN recently spoke to Urban, star of The Boys and The Lord of the Rings, and asked him exactly that. His answer was somewhat surprising, considering all the previous versions of the cocky, Hollywood character Cage that we’ve come to know and love/hate.

“I think what made this project an easy yes for me [was] when I read the script and saw that Jeremy [Slater, MK2’s writer] had quite wisely steered away from making the character that classic ego-driven Johnny Cage that we just know from all the plethora of games and movies,” Urban explained.

“So, he really stripped the character back and started him at a point where he has neglected his martial arts training,” Urban continued. “His career is in the tank. He has zero self-confidence. And it’s at this very juncture that he gets called upon, you know, by Raiden and Sonia to ostensibly save the world. And I just thought that was so cool and interesting and easy to relate to because we’ve all been down in the dumps. I just found that the writing had a lot of heart, and it sort of set it apart from being, you know, just a fight movie.”

It comes after the Australian actor admitted to knowing what a big role he’d stepped into upon accepting the job. “I definitely felt the pressure,” he said. “I remember when I got cast, I said to my two sons — who I actually played the game with, which was my first introduction to the world of Mortal Kombat — and I said, ‘Hey guys, I’m going to be Johnny Cage.’ And they were like, ‘Oof… Big fan base. Don’t f**k it up.’

Of course, Mortal Kombat has been known for its fighting for more than 30 years, and, in particular, the violent extremes it takes it to. Will this more measured look at Johnny Cage signal a softer side to the series is about to be seen on screen? Well, maybe not quite, but its cast certainly appears to be going all-in on finding out who these characters are beyond their signature fatalities.

Jax actor Mehcad Brooks recently revealed that he “actually sat with my therapist for about six sessions and figured out why he was who he was” ahead of filming the sequel after admitting that he struggled with fight scenes in the first movie. “I like to overthink a character and then underplay them,” he continued. “And then I think what happened for me was the first film, I didn’t know if I belonged in the fighting scenes. So that was the hard part for me.”

Mortal Kombat 2 hits theaters May 8, 2026.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.