The Big Picture
- Mortal Kombat 2 has finally started filming with Karl Urban joining the cast, bringing hope for a successful video game adaptation.
- Previous Mortal Kombat films disappointed fans with poor effects, dialogue, and casting choices, but the 2021 film changed things with its R-rating and faithful portrayal.
- The sequel will feature new cast members, including Tati Gabrielle, Adeline Rudolph, CJ. Bloomfield, and Ana Thu Nguyen, alongside Urban’s character, Johnny Cage.
Mortal Kombat 2 is the sequel to the iconic video game adaptation from 2021, and it has finally begun filming with The Boys very own Karl Urban joining production and sharing a quick behind-the-scenes photo with some of the cast. Historically, video game adaptations disappoint fans, as they can never stay true to the source material or accurately bring the games to life. And that’s certainly been the case with previous iterations of Mortal Kombat films, as they’ve all been major fatalities. The original films failed to bring the mystical land of Outworld to life with some less-than-stellar movie effects, campy dialogue, and questionable casting choices. Although it’s considered a cult classic, the original Mortal Kombat movies made the questionable decision not to be an R-rated film. This was a major miss for the bloody and brutal video game, as it’s known for providing gruesome fatalities.
2021’s Mortal Kombat learned from the sins of the past, as the highly anticipated film debuted in April 2021 with an R-rating. Fans were finally given brutal kills and an epic scene with fan-favorite character Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada) yelling, “GET OVER HERE!” And after the success of video game adaptations like HBO’s The Last of Us and Netflix’s two series, Arcane and Castlevania, things are finally looking up. That’s why it’s no surprise that Mortal Kombat 2 was given the green light. Director Simon McQuoid returns to direct the sequel film, alongside Moon Knight screenwriter Jeremy Slater.
Who Will Star in ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ With Karl Urban?
The first Mortal Kombat film followed the son of Scorpion, Cole Young (Lewis Tan). He’s an original character who is selected for the Mortal Kombat tournament, an ancient tradition that pits the best warriors of Earthrealm against the best from Outworld. If Earthrealm wins, the realm is safe. However, if they lose, Outworld has the right to invade them and conquer their people. The film showcases classic video game characters like Kano (Josh Lawson), Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), Raiden (Tadanobu Asano), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and Kung Lao (Max Huang).
Urban joins the cast as the Earthrealm hero Johnny Cage, a B-list action hero who does his own stunts and has a major chip over his shoulder. As the character matures throughout the games, he develops a relationship with Sonya Blade. The two eventually get married and have a daughter, Cassie Cage, who follows in her parent’s footsteps as an Earthrealm hero. Urban is not the only new cast member to join the sequel film. New faces like Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Adeline Rudolph as Princess Kitana, CJ. Bloomfield as Baraka, and Ana Thu Nguyen as Sindel will also make an appearance in Mortal Kombat 2. See Urban’s photo of his time filming on set with cast mates Rudolph, Lin, Brooks, and Bloomfield below: