- calendar_today September 3, 2025
MK II Teases Ultimate Battle with New Johnny Cage at the Helm
If you’ve ever seen The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, or any number of other films Karl Urban has been in, you may be familiar with his leather coat from The Boys. That iconic piece of clothing is being swapped out in favor of the shades for Mortal Kombat II, as the New Zealand native steps into the familiar role of Johnny Cage. Mortal Kombat II is just the teaser we all knew we wanted after the big ending of the first film, which was itself a reboot of the eponymous 1995 film.
The latest sequel will be the fourth live-action Mortal Kombat movie ever to hit theaters. In the spirit of the series, Warner Bros. released a fake movie trailer for Uncaged Fury, a deliberately cheesy pastiche of ’80s and ’90s action flicks, on the same day the real Mortal Kombat II trailer dropped. The tongue-in-cheek fake trailer playfully referenced Cage’s imagined career with mock titles like Cool Hand Cage and Rebel Without a Cage.
Warner Bros.’ decision to release a fake movie trailer for Uncaged Fury on the same day as the official Mortal Kombat II trailer.
Along with Urban stepping into the red shades, Mortal Kombat II marks the 30th anniversary of the first Mortal Kombat movie. It was a critical bomb at the time, and even inspired fans to protest the film’s special effects, which involved very early CGI. Despite its tough start, Mortal Kombat would go on to develop one of the largest cult followings of any video game series. However, the film’s 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation did not live up to fans’ expectations, and led to game publisher Midway Games going bankrupt later that same year.
Warner Bros. would pick up the film rights after a 15-year legal battle with the film’s original writer and producer. After a number of delays, director Simon McQuoid’s Mortal Kombat reboot was released to mostly positive reviews in 2021. It followed MMA fighter Cole Young, played by Lewis Tan, as he was hunted by powerful foes on account of his lineage. Young, whose father turns out to be the revered dragon Lin Kuei, is put up as bait to attract the traitor Sony to Earthrealm, which is embroiled in a brutal conflict against Outworld.
Cole Young aka Sub-Zero accepts the help of Stryker (Scott Wills), another one of the film’s titular combatants, in his quest to stop the game’s primary villain, Shang Tsung, and to learn more about his past.
In a thrilling conclusion that took fans’ expectations and ran with them into the ground, Young manages to defeat Shang Tsung, but Sony is still able to deliver a sucker punch at the end of the film. After pulling him from the arena, Sonya Blade and Raiden — who have been searching for Young throughout the film — tell Young they will need his help to stop Sony. This is where the original trailer teased viewers with Johnny Cage.
This First Trailer for Mortal Kombat II Gives Us Our First Look at Urban as Johnny Cage
“It’s a fight to the death,” Raiden informs Young in the same solemn tone the demigod is known for. Young, however, suggests raiding the arcade games in his hometown, since the idea of Cage being in the game “sounds way too dumb to be real.” When Sonya and Raiden finally get around to telling him they need Cage’s help, Young instinctively agrees, before pausing and hesitating, “Wait, what did you say? Wait. Cage?”
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In that hesitation is all you need to know about Cage. The tease is rewarded with our first look at Urban’s Cage in the new Mortal Kombat II trailer. Cage, played straight-faced by Urban, is seemingly relaxing in a back alley bar. Fans flock to him at the bar with requests for autographs and ideas for his next project, Citizen Cage. When one fan enthusiastically suggests rebooting his movie, Cage coolly responds, “Nobody wants that.”
He continues his high-brow pessimism when Sonya and Raiden turn up, ready to recruit him for the “tournament to the death,” which Cage initially assumes is being “harassed by a superfan.” When he realizes they are there to recruit him, he simply growls, “F— that.”
Johnny Cage accepts the help of Stryker (Scott Wills), another one of the film’s titular combatants, in his quest to stop the game’s primary villain, Shang Tsung, and to learn more about his past.
One of the first questions about Cage in the new film is whether he actually has powers, since he did not have any in the original film. While Cage is clearly a formidable fighter, one eye roll in the trailer quashes all fans’ theories. He simply states, “I’m just incredibly handsome,” before begrudgingly accepting the invite to fight. Of course, before he leaves the ring, he does make one very important stipulation: “No touching the face.” The rest of the trailer is very much what you would expect: ultra-violent fights, wicked fatalities, and all the catchphrases from characters like Scorpion, when he growls “Get over here!”
Mortal Kombat II is set to be released in theaters on October 24, 2025.
