Watch Karl Urban Transform into Johnny Cage in MK II Trailer

Just weeks after donning the notorious coat of The Boys’ masked killer, The Butcher, Karl Urban is trading in heavy coats and leather gloves for designer shades in Mortal Kombat II. The Lord of the Rings and Star Trek alum will reprise his role as cinematic martial arts star Johnny Cage, a brash player outside the fighting game but a fan favorite within it.

The film, which follows Warner Bros.’ 2021 reboot of the classic video game series, will be the fourth Mortal Kombat live-action film since 1995’s original.

The trailer dropped just one day after Warner Bros. also released a fake in-universe trailer for Uncaged Fury, a mid-1990s style action film starring Johnny Cage. In that trailer, which drips with cheesy cinematic violence and action movie one-liners, Cage’s other previous film roles include the mockbusters Cool Hand Cage, Hard to Cage, and Rebel Without a Cage.

2025 will also mark the 30th anniversary of the first Mortal Kombat live-action film, a notorious critical flop that raked in the cash on opening and would later go on to become a bona fide cult classic. The actor who plays the sorcerer Shang Tsung, Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa, has since remained many fans’ preferred choice. But its sequel, 1997’s Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, was a far greater disaster—earning glowing one-word reviews from critics “You” and “Hard,” faring even worse at the box office, and playing no small part in the bankruptcy of the game’s publisher Midway, which went under not long after.

By the time Warner Bros. purchased the rights, it had been over two decades since the original’s release. Warner Bros. hired Simon McQuoid to direct that reboot, a film which introduced the first cinematic iteration of Lewis Tan’s Cole Young, an MMA fighter whose fighting skills place him smack in the middle of a war for Earthrealm. While the film didn’t earn any rave reviews, it did well enough to score a sequel, this time also under McQuoid. This time around, the first film concludes with Cole embarking on a trip to Los Angeles with the express purpose of recruiting Johnny Cage.

Fans of the film can expect their favorites returning in Mortal Kombat II, as well as new fighters and characters from the classic game.

The first film’s cast that’s set to return include: Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han/Noob Saibot (a.k.a. Sub-Zero), Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Josh Lawson as Kano, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Mehcad Brooks as Jax Briggs, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao.

On top of these returning champions, Mortal Kombat II also has several new fighters, including Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Kabal voice actor Damon Herriman as Quan Chi, Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn, CJ Bloomfield as Baraka, Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod, and Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel.

The new trailer wastes little time in introducing Cage as a bit of a self-aware and hardened action star past his prime. At the beginning of the trailer, Cage is seated at a bar, where he’s spotted by an inebriated patron. “I loved Citizen Cage as a kid,” the fan says. “They should do a reboot!” Cage, who hasn’t aged so well, snaps back, “Nobody wants that. Those movies died in the ’90s.”

Lord Raiden and Sonya Blade, both of whom have chosen Cage as one of their champions to represent them in battle against the warlord Shao Kahn, cut Cage off before he can give the fan a look that would kill. “You have been chosen to fight,” Raiden says, to which Cage responds, “Are you guys here to make a customer service complaint?” Cage soon realizes they aren’t leaving his side, however, when he’s transported to an otherworldly fighting ring, in what Raiden describes as a “fighting tournament to the death.” “F— that,” Cage grumbles.

The former action star then bemoans his lack of mutant powers or otherworldly training, before dismissing the prospect altogether: “I’m just incredibly handsome.” After learning that the fate of an entire realm is at stake, however, Cage decides to participate. He still takes exception to anything that maims or distorts his face, however, and the trailer promises just that.

One bloody, melodramatic fight after another ensues, culminating with a Spinal pop-up, well-placed gunfire, and one-shot-from-the-butt trademark Mortal Kombat finishing move after another. One-liners pop off with perfect comedic timing, from Liu Kang’s poignant, “Yo, what the f—?” to the ghoulish and triumphant, “Get over here!” from Scorpion himself.

The film seems very much aware of what fans of the game love, and in playing into these ideas, Mortal Kombat II has the makings of a good time for fans. Whether the film is a hit or a miss in the eyes of others, one thing’s for certain: this sequel is in no way going to take any chances.

Mortal Kombat II will arrive in theaters on October 24, 2025.