The much-anticipated trailer for Mortal Kombat 2 is finally here, with the debut of Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage being just one reason of many to be excited for the upcoming sequel. The Mortal Kombat franchise finally returned as a feature film with the 2021 reboot Mortal Kombat. While it had its strong points, most especially in the movie’s fantastic opening and finale fight sequences with Scorpion and Sub-Zero, the middle section had its share of issues. That is something that numerous Mortal Kombat cast and crew members have gone out of their way to emphasize that Mortal Kombat 2 has learned from (producer Todd Garner stating, “Trust me, we’ve listened,” on Twitter/X), and judging from the movie’s first trailer, it seems those lessons have indeed been heeded.
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Mortal Kombat 2 picks up from the ending of its predecessor, with Hollywood action star Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) being recruited by Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) to join his hand-picked warriors and fight in the Mortal Kombat tournament to defend Earthrealm from Outworld. Like its predecessor, Mortal Kombat 2 is leaning heavily into its R rating with bloody fatalities galore, but that’s just where the excitement for the sequel begins for Mortal Kombat fans. Here are five big reasons to be excited for Mortal Kombat 2.
1) Mortal Kombat 2’s Fight Sequences Look Awesome
As one of the premier fighting game titles in video game history, enthralling martial arts fight sequences are a must in any adaptation of Mortal Kombat. 2021’s big-screen reboot of Mortal Kombat was somewhat of a mixed bag in that respect, with the aforementioned outstanding fight scenes between Joe Taslim’s Sub-Zero and Hiroyuki Sanada’s Scorpion bookending the movie (Lewis Tan’s Cole Young also joining in for the latter). However, the fight scenes in between were often hampered by choppy editing, along with a lack of martial arts experience in some of the cast really showing.
Mortal Kombat 2‘s trailer shows that to be a thing of the past with its showcase of phenomenal fight choreography, far less intrusive and much clearer editing, and a much more seamless transition between actors and doubles whenever it becomes necessary to compensate for cast members lacking in martial arts experience. That is very much the case with Karl Urban’s cool and agile Johnny Cage, while the fight choreography and editing also lend themselves to showcasing the genuine skills of the well-versed martial artists in the cast like Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ludi Lin, and Max Huang. Coupled with Mortal Kombat’s signature special moves, supernatural elements, and fatalities, it looks like Mortal Kombat 2 could be one of 2025’s most action-packed and truly exhilarating martial arts films.
2) Mortal Kombat 2 Is Putting Johnny Cage Center Stage (& Going Full Meta With Him)
While 2021’s Mortal Kombat included much of the game’s vast roster of characters on the sides of both Earthrealm and Outworld, Johnny Cage was the one whose absence was most felt. The movie directly teased Johnny being recruited by Cole Young to fight for Earthrealm in its final scene, and it seems that Mortal Kombat 2 is going out of its way to give the Hollywood action star a grand entrance. While Mortal Kombat 2 is very much an ensemble piece, Johnny Cage seems to be the focal point, with Karl Urban bringing his grit from Dredd and The Boys to put a rougher spin on Johnny’s cocky personality.
Additionally, Mortal Kombat 2‘s marketing is having plenty of fun with Johnny Cage being an in-universe action movie star, releasing the mock trailer for Johnny’s movie “Uncaged Fury” ahead of the actual trailer. Other Johnny Cage movie posters and marketing material seen in Mortal Kombat 2‘s trailer clearly play off of ’90s action movie hits, with Johnny’s “Hard to Cage” a riff on Steven Seagal’s Hard to Kill and the poster for “Uncaged Fury” clearly being reminiscent of that for 1996’s Mission: Impossible. In having a literal action star with genuine martial arts skills as its protagonist, Mortal Kombat 2 is leaning into Johnny Cage’s backstory in the most fun way possible.
3) Mortal Kombat 2 Has Gotten Some Great Endorsements
It’s one thing for a great trailer to generate hype and excitement like Mortal Kombat 2‘s does, but even before it arrived, some of the best marketing the sequel has gotten has been from figures in the entertainment industry who have seen it early. One of the most vocal supporters of Mortal Kombat 2 pre-released has been Indonesian action and horror movie maven Timo Tjahjanto, who stated that he “can confirm” that the sequel “f-cking rules” on Twitter/X. What makes Tjahjanto’s endorsement of Mortal Kombat 2 particularly exciting is his own exalted pedigree in the action genre. Tjahjanto has directed or co-directed the martial-arts action hits Headshot, The Night Comes For Us, and The Shadow Strays. Not only do all three feature superb martial arts action, but their sheer level of gore makes each akin to Mortal Kombat minus the supernatural elements.
Needless to say, Timo Tjhajanto’s endorsement of Mortal Kombat 2 raised the eyebrows of many fans, and so too has that been the case with none other than Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon. While Boon’s voice was noticeably absent from the promotion of 2021’s Mortal Kombat, that has been a very different story with Mortal Kombat 2, with Boon praising the sequel early and enthusiastically on Twitter/X in a photo with cast members Lewis Tan, Chin Han, and Martyn Ford. While the father of Mortal Kombat may have been on the bench for the 2021 reboot, his excitement for it, along with Tjahjanto’s, is most definitely enough to get the attention of Mortal Kombat fans, and much more so after the release of Mortal Kombat 2‘s trailer.
4) The Mortal Kombat Tournament Will Finally Be Featured
2021’s Mortal Kombat made the unexpected decision to take place before the actual Mortal Kombat tournament, primarily focusing upon Earthrealm’s warriors training for it, along with a tournament-esque final battle in its third act. That is actually by design, with co-writer Greg Russo explaining the plans for a Mortal Kombat trilogy with each respective installment taking place before, during, and after the tournament, in an interview with Collider. With part one of that covered in Mortal Kombat, that means that Mortal Kombat 2 can officially dive into the tournament for the fate of Earthrealm.
The finale of Mortal Kombat sees Earthrealm’s warriors essentially forcing Outworld into a tournament of sorts, Shang Tsung (Chin Han) and his associates spending Mortal Kombat trying to kill Earthrealm’s fighters before the tournament. While a bit of a condensed version of what the tournament entails, the finale of Mortal Kombat, and especially the excellent two-on-one smackdown of Cole and Scorpion against Sub-Zero, showed the potential of a truly R-rated Mortal Kombat tournament on the big screen. With the plans for the series mapped out and Johnny Cage on board for the fight, fans can now properly buckle their seatbelts for a fatality-filled tournament in Mortal Kombat 2 (with co-writer Jeremy Slater also offering some exciting details on the tournament in an interview with ComicBook).
5) Bi-Han Goes From One Mortal Kombat Character to Another in Mortal Kombat 2
Joe Taslim’s Bi-Han, aka Sub-Zero, was one of the stand-out characters in Mortal Kombat, which itself also marked the first time Sub-Zero has been the final boss in any live-action Mortal Kombat adaptation. Taslim’s fight scenes were among the best of Mortal Kombat, while he brought a winning combination of villainous charm and sinister sadism to his portrayal of Sub-Zero. While Bi-Han meets a fiery death at the hands of Hiroyuki Sanada’s vengeful Scorpion, Mortal Kombat fans know that Sub-Zero is just one half of his story, with Taslim returning in Mortal Kombat 2 as Noob Saibot.
Mortal Kombat 2 appears to be adhering to the game’s canonical story of Bi-Han being the first Sub-Zero, and returning as the villainous Noob Saibot from the Netherrealm to continue his bloody enmity with Scorpion. While Bi-Han’s younger brother and Sub-Zero successor Kuai Liang doesn’t appear to be in Mortal Kombat 2 (barring a surprise appearance that’s being kept hidden), Joe Taslim’s Lin Kuei warrior Bi-Han nonetheless is set to bring more of his villainous carnage to round two with Scorpion in Mortal Kombat 2, another element that gives Mortal Kombat fans plenty of reason to be hyped for the upcoming sequel.
Mortal Kombat 2 will be released in theaters on October 24th.
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