The Boys Star Karl Urban Reveals the Role That Tested Him More Than Any Other
Karl Urban says taking on Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat II is the toughest role of his career, embracing a washed-up action star persona and teasing what went down during the sequel’s shoot.
Karl Urban is suiting up as Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat II, and apparently the shades and split-kicks come with a cost. The Boys star says this one pushed him harder than anything he has done before, which is kind of wild considering his day job involves getting thrown through walls.
Why Johnny Cage is beating up Karl Urban
Urban told EW that playing Cage was a whole different kind of pain. He is done plenty of rough-and-tumble work, but this time the martial arts demanded laser-precise technique and choreography. Translation: if one move is off by a hair, the entire fight looks wrong, and you do it again. A lot.
"I asked for a heavy-action content movie, and for my sins, they gave me one. It was the most challenging role that I have ever undertaken in my career. It is the martial arts. The form and the style are so specific, and the choreography can be so definitive in its movement, with a precision of execution for it to look good. It was a huge challenge."
So what is Mortal Kombat II doing with Johnny Cage?
This version of Cage is a washed-up action star who gets pulled into the actual cross-realm death tournament known as Mortal Kombat to fight for Earthrealm. The official setup is pretty straightforward: the fan-favorite fighters are back, now with Cage in the mix, and they are thrown into an all-out, no-holds-barred, very bloody showdown to stop Shao Kahn from tightening his grip and threatening Earthrealm and the people sworn to defend it.
The nuts and bolts
- Release date: May 8, 2026 (in theaters)
- Director: Simon McQuoid (returning from the 2021 reboot)
- Screenplay: Jeremy Slater
- Based on the video game created by Ed Boon and John Tobias
- Karl Urban plays Johnny Cage
- Also starring: Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada
- Sequel to 2021's Mortal Kombat
If you are wondering why this feels like a bigger swing than the last movie: adding Cage gives the sequel a loudmouth movie-star energy on top of all the bone-crunching lore. If Urban is saying it is the most demanding role of his career, expect fights that look like they were rehearsed down to the millimeter—and probably some deliciously cocky one-liners between the bruises.