The first look at a movie’s cast is always a precarious moment of any film production. The question of whether fans will be on board with the casting decisions is usually answered pretty early on, and after that it is hard for the initial reaction to be undone. In the case of Mortal Kombat 2, the casting of Karl Urban as Johnny Cage had already been given the seal of approval by many, and yesterday’s reveal of the full cast together has seen the internet going wild over Urban even before he full gets into his role.
The shot shared by the movie’s producer Todd Garner, which revealed the “new friends and old friends” of the franchise created its own stir, but then fans began to notice Urban’s shaved face and frost-tipped hair style and immediately jumped on his appearance as a sneak peek of what his version of Johnny Cage is going to look like in the movie. You can check out the reactions to Urban’s appearance below.
Although Mortal Kombat did not quite hit the heights of some recent video game adaptations, the movie did enough to ensure the franchise continued and that means a potentially bigger and better sequel. The potential success of the 2021 reboot of the violent fighting game was hindered by the Covid pandemic, and that is something that was clearly taken into account when the green light was given to the sequel. With Simon McQuoid returning to direct, we can probably expect Mortal Kombat 2 to follow pretty much he same line as the first movie.
Will Mortal Kombat 2 Be a Bigger Sequel?
There is every expectation that Mortal Kombat 2 will be bringing something bigger and more elaborate to screens than its predecessor, with a number of new cast members joining those returning to their previous roles. Returning for the sequel are Cole Young’s Lewis Tan, Sonya Blade’s Jessica McNamee, Kano’s Josh Lawson, Jax’s Mehcad Brooks, Raiden’s Tadanobu Asano, Liu Kang’s Ludi Lin, Shang Tsung’s Chin Han, Sub-Zero’s Joe Taslim, and Scorpion’s Hiroyuki Sanada.
The sequel has certainly not held back on expanding that cast, with Urban’s Johnny Cage being just one of the classic characters joining the fight. Martyn Ford recently joined the production as Shao Khan, along with Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel and Damon Harriman as Quan Chi.
Production on the movie seems to be moving forward despite the current writer’s strike, and although a potential actor’s strike could throw a spanner in the works, things seem to be setting Mortal Kombat 2 as a potential 2024 release, although the actually release date has so far not been revealed. With 2021’s Mortal Kombat having pleased many fans, the arrival of Johnny Cage and a number of other popular video game characters, the sequel looks like it is setting itself up to be another hit and could prove to be the huge hit the first movie could have been without the fallout of the pandemic.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
