The best thing about the new Mortal Kombat II trailer is that it shoves previous protagonist Cole Young (Lewis Tan), who was pretty bland, in favor of Karl Urban as ass-kicking Hollywood jerkwad, Johnny Cage. Thank goodness, because Cage is one of the most important and entertaining characters in the entirety of the iconic video game franchise. And while I would’ve been happy with WWE’s The Miz snagging the role, it’s tough to deny that Urban looks great and is a much better fit.
There’s a lot to like in this trailer beyond Urban, like Ludi Lin as Liu Kang who returns for what should be an expanded role. There’s also a cool look at Joe Taslim’s Noob Saibot battling Hiroyuki Sanada’s Scorpion, while Adeline Rudolph looks killer as Kitana.
The full cast includes so many of Mortal Kombat roster that nearly everyone’s favorite character is here: Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Jessica McNamee as Sonya, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Desmond Chiam as King Jerrod, Ana Thu Nguyen as Sindel, CJ Bloomfield as Baraka, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han/Noob Saibot, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion.
Directed once again by Simon McQuoid, Mortal Kombat II hits theaters on May 8th. It’s only fitting that Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, forever rival fighting game franchises, both have highly anticipated movies opening this year. Which one will get the KO?
