Reportedly, Karl Urban, known for his roles in The Boys and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is in final talks to join the cast of the Mortal Kombat sequel. The sequel, which Warner Bros and New Line will produce, aims to bring the popular video game back to the big screen.
Although nothing is official yet, sources suggest that Urban may be playing Johnny Cage, a movie star with a background in martial arts who enters the Mortal Kombat tournament to prove his combat skills are not just special effects.
Johnny Cage debuted in the 1992 Mortal Kombat arcade game and was modeled after Jean-Claude Van Damme’s character in the 1988 film Bloodsport. Linden Ashby previously portrayed the character in the 1995 live-action film adaptation of the game.
The news of Urban’s potential involvement in the sequel was shared on Twitter by the film’s producer, Todd Garner, lending some credibility to the report.
Karl Urban has gained popularity for his portrayal of Éomer in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the Star Trek reboot films, and Judge Dredd in the movie Dredd from 2012. Currently, he is starring as Billy Butcher in the hit superhero series, The Boys.
The Mortal Kombat sequel is expected to follow the same storyline as the video game, which revolves around a tournament where the best fighters from different realms compete for supremacy.
The sequel will be written by Jeremy Slater, famous for his work on Moon Knight. The original cast includes Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Mehcad Brooks, Ludi Lin, Tadanobu Asano, and Chin Han, who will all be returning for the sequel. Joe Taslim will be playing sub-zero in future Mortal Kombat movies, while the sequel will feature four franchise villains: Shao Khan, Baraka, Quan Chi, and Sindel.
