Cast

Mortal Kombat II stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Karl Urban (Dredd) as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

The film has earned an R rating for strong bloody violence and gore, and language.

Johnny Cage

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Karl Urban said, “I asked for a heavy-action content movie, and for my sins, they gave me one. It was the most challenging role that I’ve ever undertaken in my career. It’s the martial arts. The form and the style of martial arts is so specific, and the choreography, at times, is so definitive in its movement, and there’s a precision of execution for it to look good. It was a huge challenge. … As part of my research, I went to karate tournaments and looked at the younger generation of martial artists coming through to see what it was like growing up in that environment, as I imagine Johnny Cage had done when he was a kid.”

The Entertainment Weekly article also reveals that Cage is “a washed-up Hollywood actor. A former karate student as a kid, he grew up to be a big shot in the Sylvester Stallone-, Jean-Claude Van Damme-, and Arnold Schwarzenegger-era of B-action movies, but he’s now working the dried-up fan convention circuit.” He’s in the twilight of his career when he gets recruited into the Mortal Kombat tournament – and his fighting skills are rusty and sloppy when he has his first fight, which pits him against Kitana.

Crowd Pleaser

Screenwriter Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight, has said that test screening audience responses to Mortal Kombat II have been so enthusiastic, they’re on the level of the reaction he (and many other movie-goers) had to Avengers: Endgame – which sounds good for Garner’s sequel plans.

Garner told FutureBoyWho2 (with thanks to SuperHeroHype for the transcription), “We’re hoping that this is not the end of the franchise. So, this is not like we’re just doing this movie and this is going to be it, hopefully. We have a plan further down the line for things.” Referencing the character Hanzo Hasashi becoming Scorpion and Bi-Han becoming Sub-Zero and then Noob Saibot, he added, “Those characters have evolved. I know everybody’s waiting for Kano to get the metal plate in his eye. That will happen. … If we’re allowed to do further movies, hopefully this one does well enough, there’s chances to do other things, spinoffs, another sequel to propel the story, bring in different characters, and evolve the characters that we already have.” He even teased that the character Rain could appear in Mortal Kombat 3… and it has already been confirmed that Mortal Kombat 3 is in the works.

Are you looking forward to seeing what Karl Urban does in the role of Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat II? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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“They should be worried for everyone, to be honest,” Tan said. “In different versions of the script, different people died. I was like, ‘No way.’ Then, they changed it and switched it. By the end of it, nobody is safe. Anybody could die… and there are a lot of fatalities in the second movie. If your favorite character dies, it’s not the end. Death is only the beginning. Don’t be too upset, but there are a lot of fatalities. Some people are going to be happy and some are going to be really p-ssed off.”

“Death is only the beginning,” eh? It could be that, like games in the series, Mortal Kombat 2 will introduce a time distortion mechanic as part of its narrative. After all, who wouldn’t want to see Karl Urban’s seasoned Johnny Cage interact with his younger, more brash self? I could be barking up the wrong tree, but we won’t know until the movie arrives in theaters on May 15, 2026.

Once again directed by Simon McQuoid, Mortal Kombat II will find the fan favourite champions—now joined by Johnny Cage himself—are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds-barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders. Karl Urban stars as Johnny Cage, alongside Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, with Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion.

What are some of your favorite Mortal Kombat fatalities that you’d like to see executed in Mortal Kombat 2? Is there a character death that would send you over the edge? Do you think Mortal Kombat 2 will be better than the first movie? Let us know in the comments section below.

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As reported by Deadline, Mortal Kombat III will bring back Jeremy Slater as screenwriter, having penned the sequel, replacing Greg Russo and Dave Callaham. Obviously little is known about the movie or when it will be released, but fans will probably want Simon McQuoid back behind the camera as he directed both movies. Getting Mortal Kombat III on the slate might seem premature but it looks like the studio is banking on trailer views online for the second movie.

And long before Mortal Kombat III hits screens, we’ll get Mortal Kombat II, which is set to reach theaters on May 15th, 2026, having originally been set for release later this month. Earlier reactions to the sequel have been incredibly strong, with Slater noting, “I’m so excited for people to see the movie. It’s been done for a while. We’ve been waiting for the right release date and waiting for the right window. I have been to those test screenings, which are full of Mortal Kombat fans, and watching them react to it the way I reacted to Avengers: Endgame. They were cheering and jumping out of their seats. Every joke is landing and they are loving it. It’s one of the greatest moments of my life. That’s why you get into this business.”

One major reason for fans to be excited for Mortal Kombat II is the appearance of Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), who joins the returning cast of characters including Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Kano (Josh Lawson), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and more. Other newcomers include Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and Jade (Tati Gabrielle).

If Mortal Kombat III does in fact get made, it will show just how much faith there still is in the franchise in terms of movies. Remember, back in the ‘90s, we only got two: 1995’s Mortal Kombat and 1997’s Mortal Kombat Annihilation.

Are you down for more Mortal Kombat? Will you be checking out the sequel in theaters?

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What’s the reason for the move? Warner Bros. feels that the film will simply perform better in May. In addition, the previous release date was looking exceptionally crowded, with Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, Regretting You, Bugonia, and Last Days all set to debut on the same date.

Once again directed by Simon McQuoid, Mortal Kombat II will find the fan favourite champions—now joined by Johnny Cage himself—are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders. Karl Urban stars as Johnny Cage, alongside Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, with Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion.

The first film definitely had some great moments, but fans were mixed. That doesn’t seem like it will be the case with the sequel, as reports from test screenings have been enthusiastic. Screenwriter Jeremy Slater even said they’re on the level of the reaction he (and many other movie-goers) had to Avengers: Endgame. A big part of the buzz, in my opinion, comes from Karl Urban stepping in as Johnny Cage, a character who injects a sense of fun that was missing from the original film. That Uncaged Fury teaser trailer was gloriously cheesy.

Producer Todd Garner is already keeping his fingers crossed for another installment. “We’re hoping that this is not the end of the franchise,” he said. “So, this is not like we’re just doing this movie and this is going to be it, hopefully. We have a plan further down the line for things.“

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After next weekend, we’re officially into the dog days of summer. I’d wager that aside from Freakier Friday, Weapons, Highest 2 Lowest, and Nobody 2, the rest of the season will be pretty quiet. There’s The Roses — a remake of War of the Roses — which looks absolutely awful. And curiously, Sony seems to be dumping Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing, a film that really deserves a mid-fall slot and a proper festival rollout.

No matter — the early fall season (September/October) is shaping up to be pretty rad. There are tons of horror flicks on the way, including the final Conjuring film, The Black Phone 2, and Keeper. We’re also getting some legit tentpole releases, like Tron: Ares.

That said, what I’m most hyped for are the early awards contenders: P.T. Anderson’s One Battle After Another, and the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere. And I’ll admit it — I’m a massive Downton Abbey fan, so I’m ridiculously excited for The Finale (and praying that title’s a lie — I want these movies to go on forever).

Oh, and let’s not forget Mortal Kombat 2, which is getting some seriously good early buzz — especially around Karl Urban’s reportedly killer take on Johnny Cage.

With all that coming up, we want to know: which films are you most excited for? Take the poll and let us know!

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Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel Mortal Kombat II, and while the video game adaptation wrapped production back in January of 2024 after a bumpy ride through the year of the strikes, they had to go back for some reshoots last summer. The movie will finally be making its way out into theatres on October 24th – and while we wait for our chance to see it, producer Todd Garner has confirmed that he’s keeping his fingers crossed, hoping for the chance to make more sequels.

Mortal Kombat II stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Karl Urban (Dredd) as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

The film has earned an R rating for strong bloody violence and gore, and language. In addition to the trailer, we also got to see a very cool, Grindhouse-esque faux trailer for the Johnny Cage action flick Uncaged Fury that was released a couple of days ago

Screenwriter Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight, has said that test screening audience responses to Mortal Kombat II have been so enthusiastic, they’re on the level of the reaction he (and many other movie-goers) had to Avengers: Endgame – which sounds good for Garner’s sequel plans.

Garner told FutureBoyWho2 (with thanks to SuperHeroHype for the transcription), “We’re hoping that this is not the end of the franchise. So, this is not like we’re just doing this movie and this is going to be it, hopefully. We have a plan further down the line for things.” Referencing the character Hanzo Hasashi becoming Scorpion and Bi-Han becoming Sub-Zero and then Noob Saibot, he added, “Those characters have evolved. I know everybody’s waiting for Kano to get the metal plate in his eye. That will happen. … If we’re allowed to do further movies, hopefully this one does well enough, there’s chances to do other things, spinoffs, another sequel to propel the story, bring in different characters, and evolve the characters that we already have.” He even teased that the character Rain could appear in Mortal Kombat 3, if they get to make it.

Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat II, and are you hoping for more sequels beyond that one? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Mortal Kombat 2 producer has hopes and plans for more sequels appeared first on JoBlo.

Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel Mortal Kombat 2, and while the video game adaptation wrapped production back in January of 2024 after a bumpy ride through the year of the strikes, they had to go back for some reshoots last summer. The movie will finally be making its way out into theatres on October 24th – and yesterday, the first trailer dropped online. (You can watch that in the embed above.) Along with the trailer comes the unveiling of a dozen character posters, and those can be seen at the bottom of this article.

The sequel stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Karl Urban (Dredd) as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Screenwriter Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight, has said that test screening audience responses have been so enthusiastic, they’re on the level of the reaction he (and many other movie-goers) had to Avengers: Endgame.

The film has earned an R rating for strong bloody violence and gore, and language. In addition to the trailer, we also got to see a very cool, Grindhouse-esque faux trailer for the Johnny Cage action flick Uncaged Fury that was released a couple of days ago

Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat 2? Check out the character posters, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel Mortal Kombat 2, and while the video game adaptation wrapped production back in January of 2024 after a bumpy ride through the year of the strikes, they had to go back for some reshoots last summer. The movie will finally be making its way out into theatres on October 24th – and today, the trailer has dropped online! It may not be as cool as the Grindhouse-esque faux trailer for Uncaged Fury that dropped online yesterday, but you might still get a kick out of it. You can check it out in the embed above.

The sequel stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Karl Urban (Dredd) as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Screenwriter Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight, has said that test screening audience responses have been so enthusiastic, they’re on the level of the reaction he (and many other movie-goers) had to Avengers: Endgame.

Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat 2? Take a look at the trailer, then let us know by leaving a comment below. The film has earned an R rating for strong bloody violence and gore, and language.

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Nothing gets the blood pumping like a swift kick to the nostalgia bread basket, and today, Warner Bros. Pictures is unleashing Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage for a Mortal Kombat II teaser that hits the mark. Presented like a mixture of grindhouse and old-school martial arts action cinema, WB’s “Uncaged Fury” promo gets everything right about the classic MK character’s heyday.

In the “Uncaged Fury” teaser trailer for Mortal Kombat II, Karl Urban plays Johnny Cage, the actor and martial artist who finds himself mixed up in Mortal Kombat, a tournament of champions fought between representatives of the Earthrealm (Earth) and the Outworld. Cage, alongside warriors like Raiden, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Jax, and Kung Lao, wages war against the evil Shang Tsung, a shape-shifting warlord hellbent on bringing Earthrealm to its knees and setting the demons of Outworld loose on humanity.

The “Uncaged Fury” teaser finds Karl Urban playing Johnny Cage to a tee. The promo mentions Cage’s past films, like Cool Hand Cage, Hard to Cage, and Rebel Without a Cage, before launching into the action superstar’s latest mission, which involves lots of ass-kicking and keeping his shades safe from harm. As Urban unleashes acrobatic moves and one-liners, I can hear Johnny Cage fans roaring with laughter outside my window, beaming at how accurate Urban’s portrayal is.

The sequel stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Karl Urban (Dredd) as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Screenwriter Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight, has said that the test screening audience responses have been so enthusiastic that they’re on the level of his (and many other movie-goers’) reaction to Avengers: Endgame.

What do you think about today’s Mortal Kombat II teaser trailer? Have your doubts about Karl Urban playing Cage gone with this promo? Let us know in the comments section below.

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The sequel stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Karl Urban (Dredd) as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Screenwriter Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight, has said that test screening audience responses have been so enthusiastic, they’re on the level of the reaction he (and many other movie-goers) had to Avengers: Endgame.

Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat 2, and are you glad to hear we’ll be seeing the trailer in July? Let us know by leaving a comment below. As the ratings notice on Garner’s laptop screen shows, the film has been rated R – but the reasons haven’t been filled in there. The reasons for the R rating are strong bloody violence and gore, and language. The previous movie was rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references.

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The sequel stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Karl Urban (Dredd) as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Slater told ComicBook.com, “I’m so excited for people to see the movie. It’s been done for a while. We’ve been waiting for the right release date and waiting for the right window. I have been to those test screenings, which are full of Mortal Kombat fans, and watching them react to it the way I reacted to Avengers: Endgame. They were cheering and jumping out of their seats. Every joke is landing and they are loving it. It’s one of the greatest moments of my life. That’s why you get into this business.” As for his approach to writing the script, he said, “We came in with certain guide posts that were already in place. The previous movie promised there was a tournament coming and that Johnny Cage was going to be part of the story, somehow. Those were the two things we knew we had to work with and around. I was adamant that we had to have this tournament in the movie. We can’t make people wait another movie and then be like, ‘Come back for the finale.’ It was finding a structure to make the tournament as satisfying as you want it to be because this had years of build-up. It’s figuring out who the individual matches are going to be, which characters do you pair off for maximum emotional impact, but also for the most dynamic fights. Then, also, what is the larger story you are telling between the tournament? I was very cognizant that we need to be telling a story on the margins where there is just as much exciting stuff happening outside of the tournament as inside of the tournament, so you’re never bored and both of these stories are moving the movie forward.“

To read more of the interview, click over to ComicBook.com.

What do you think of what Jeremy Slater had to say about Mortal Kombat 2 and the audience reactions? Are you looking forward to this movie? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Last week, Warner Bros. Games and NetherRealm Studios added new skin DLCs (downloadable content) to the Mortal Kombat 1 video game, which are currently available for purchase on Xbox and Playstation 5 platforms. The new skins are character designs from the upcoming Mortal Kombat 2 film and can be applied to Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Kitana, Johnny Cage and Shao Khan (who is known as General Shao in the current incarnation). While Scorpion and Sub-Zero’s designs look to be carried over from the first movie from 2021, you can now get full-body looks at Shao Khan, Kitana and Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage in the sequel.

We’ve already gotten a few peeks at these characters when some images were released a couple months back. The stills featured Karl Urban as Cage with returning characters Jax, Sonya Blade and Liu Kang, played again by Mehcad Brooks, Jessica McNamee and Ludi Lin. We also saw Hiroyuki Sanada return as Scorpion, with a new peek at Adeline Rudolph as Princess Kitana and Martyn Ford as Emperor Shao Khan.

Ed Boon, Mortal Kombat co-creator and head of gaming developer NetherRealm Studios, gushed about Johnny Cage making his grand entrance to the story, “You finally get to see Johnny Cage. His integration into the Mortal Kombat story and universe is a big part of what this movie explores. He’s a washed-up Hollywood guy thrown into this magical, ultra-violent thing. Karl, his depiction of Johnny Cage is different than our games in some ways. He’s adding his own flare to it, but I think it’ll feel fresh. There’s like a novelty factor in there.”

Cage will serve as the audience surrogate for the tournament, just as the character of Cole provided for the first film. Boon boasts that Cage’s introduction is “ridiculously hilarious,” and says it got “some of the biggest laughs” from the early screenings of Mortal Kombat 2. Meanwhile, director Simon McQuoid would try to find a way to make Cage complete and not an all-out farce, “We wanted a character that wasn’t just completely silly, comic book…It’s a character that could instantly go there and become too light and throwaway if we were to lean too much into the kind of cheese. The casting of Karl Urban for that role allowed that character to have more depth.”

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Warner Bros. has plenty of horror offerings on its slate and showcased a few of them during its presentation at CinemaCon, including Maggie Gyllenhaalʼs The Bride.

Audiences were treated to a teaser trailer for The Bride, which star Jessie Buckley (who plays the titular character) described as “the punkest love that’s ever existed.” Think Bonnie and Clyde, Wild at Heart, Sid & Nancy, and Natural Born Killers. The teaser finds Buckley’s character being horrifically murdered, but she’s later reanimated and meets Christian Bale as Frankenstein’s monster. The pair set out to avenge her murder and become fugitives.

Gyllenhaal said she was looking for something “pop and big” and “radical” for her next project. She encountered a man at a party with a Bride of Frankenstein tattoo on his arm. “It hooked me and I went home and watched the movie,” she said. “The bride is in the movie for about three minutes and she doesn’t speak which could not be more different than our bride.“

“All of us have a little aspect of something monstrous in us, which is why we love monster movies, probably,” she continued. “You can run from it your entire life or you can shake hands with it… The monsters in our movie do monstrous things…but they’re also our heroes.” In the film, Frankenstein’s monster is a lover of movies, and Gyllenhaal shot the film in IMAX.

We also saw a clip from Final Destination: Bloodlines, which our own Chris Bumbray said looked like a blast. If you’d like to stay completely unspoiled, I recommend refraining from reading the clip’s description.

It features two brothers who are arguing in a hospital about the best way to cheat death, either by killing someone else or killing themselves by flatlining and resituating. One brother has a peanut allergy, so he decides to buy some peanut butter cups at the vending machine. It gets stuck, they try to tip the machine, it almost falls on them, but doesn’t. In another room, an MRI machine turns on and gruesomely pulls the piercings from one of the brother’s nose, chest, and ears. The other brother starts to have a reaction to the peanut butter cups, and… well, it doesn’t turn out well for them.

There was also a sizzle reel for Mortal Kombat II, which ends with Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage exclaiming, “I’m Johnny f***ing Cage!” New Line chief Richard Brenner, who introduced the movie, added that we should “Expect amazing fights, epic battles and a few fatalities.” The film is set to hit theaters on October 24th.

Another movie hitting WB’s CinemaCon stage is Weapons from Barbarian director Zach Cregger. The mysterious film stars Julie Garner and Josh Brolin. The CinemaCon crowd saw an early trailer for the film. As it unravels, it constantly reinvents itself. The teaser is exclusive to CinemaCon and will not be released to the public.

The film is set in a small town where a classroom of children taught by Julia Garner vanishes. All the kids woke up the night before, walked into the dark, and never returned. Brolin is a father in the film, and people think he’s somehow involved with the children vanishing. Nightmares of the child haunt Garner’s character. As folks said, Weapons is like a horror version of Magnolia. The preview for Weapons has some striking imagery and was filmed in IMAX.

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Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel Mortal Kombat 2, and while the fighting game-inspired sequel wrapped production back in January of 2024 after a bumpy ride through the year of the strikes, they had to go back for some reshoots last summer. The anticipated element for this installment, besides the actual tournament of course, is the inclusion of fan-favorite Johnny Cage, who will be portrayed by Karl Urban, who is equally beloved.

Entertainment Weekly has unleashed a small batch of new images from the upcoming video game adaptation. While we’ve already gotten a look at Urban as Cage in the faux movie poster for Uncaged Fury, we now see him in the flesh with returning characters Jax, Sonya Blade and Liu Kang, played again by Mehcad Brooks, Jessica McNamee and Ludi Lin. We see Hiroyuki Sanada return as Scorpion, but we now also get a new peek at Adeline Rudolph as Princess Kitana and Martyn Ford as Emperor Shao Khan. Check out the pics below.

Ed Boon, Mortal Kombat co-creator and head of gaming developer NetherRealm Studios, gushed about Johnny Cage making his grand entrance to the story, “You finally get to see Johnny Cage. His integration into the Mortal Kombat story and universe is a big part of what this movie explores. He’s a washed-up Hollywood guy thrown into this magical, ultra-violent thing. Karl, his depiction of Johnny Cage is different than our games in some ways. He’s adding his own flare to it, but I think it’ll feel fresh. There’s like a novelty factor in there.”

Cage will serve as the audience surrogate for the tournament, just as the character of Cole provided for the first film. Boon boasts that Cage’s introduction is “ridiculously hilarious,” and says it got “some of the biggest laughs” from the early screenings of Mortal Kombat 2. Meanwhile, director Simon McQuoid would try to find a way to make Cage complete and not an all-out farce, “We wanted a character that wasn’t just completely silly, comic book…It’s a character that could instantly go there and become too light and throwaway if we were to lean too much into the kind of cheese. The casting of Karl Urban for that role allowed that character to have more depth.”

The post Round 1 of newly released Mortal Kombat 2 images showcase new characters appeared first on JoBlo.

Cody

In response to the Covid pandemic, Warner Bros. gave all of their 2021 films day-and-date theatrical and Max streaming releases – and one movie that really benefited from the streaming side of that strategy was the video game adaptation Mortal Kombat, released in April of 2021. As reported by Business Insider, Mortal Kombat had the best weekend of any of the Warner Bros. releases on Max, with a total of 3.8 million viewers during its first few days. In addition to that, the film, which cost $55 million to make, earned $83.6 million at the global box office. So, within months of its release, Warner Bros. was already developing sequels and spinoffs. The first follow-up will be making its way into theatres sometime in 2025 – and here’s everything we know about Mortal Kombat 2.

DIRECTOR

Commercial director Simon McQuoid made his feature directorial debut with the 2021 Mortal Kombat, following in the footsteps of Paul W.S. Anderson, who directed a popular 1995 film based on the video game franchise, and John R. Leonetti, who was the cinematographer on the ’95 Mortal Kombat before being promoted to director on the poorly-received 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. McQuoid landed the job because producer Todd Garner was impressed by a Duracell commercial he directed, which was set in the Star Wars universe.

McQuoid actually turned down the job offer at first. As he explained to The Hollywood Reporter, he told his agent, “The first movie out, I think it shouldn’t be a video game. I’ve done video game commercials, and I get it, but let’s try to get something other than that.” But then, he was won over by the script and agreed to make the movie. And since the movie turned out to be a success, the producers and Warner Bros. decided to have McQuoid return to the helm for the sequel.

WRITER

Greg Russo and Dave Callaham received screenplay credit on Mortal Kombat ’21, with Russo also credited for crafting the story with Oren Uziel, working from the ideas presented in the video game franchise created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. That film had the following synopsis: MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage — or why Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his best warrior, Sub-Zero, an otherworldly Cryomancer, to hunt Cole down. Fearing for his family’s safety, Cole goes in search of Sonya Blade at the direction of Jax, a Special Forces Major who bears the same strange dragon marking Cole was born with. Soon, he finds himself at the temple of Lord Raiden, an Elder God and the protector of Earthrealm, who grants sanctuary to those who bear the mark. Here, Cole trains with experienced warriors Liu Kang, Kung Lao and rogue mercenary Kano, as he prepares to stand with Earth’s greatest champions against the enemies of Outworld in a high stakes battle for the universe. But will Cole be pushed hard enough to unlock his arcana — the immense power from within his soul — in time to save not only his family, but to stop Outworld once and for all?

A synopsis hasn’t been revealed for Mortal Kombat 2 yet, but we do know who wrote the script: in January of 2022, it was announced that Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on Marvel’s Moon Knight series and created the TV series based The Exorcist, had been hired to write the sequel. Soon after the announcement, the writer spoke with The Direct to give an update on the script and tease that the filmmakers learned from the mistakes of the first movie. Slater said, “It’s really fun so far. We’re about halfway through the script. I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’” He added that they’re viewing the Mortal Kombat sequel as “the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.” He went into this job wanting to make the Mortal Kombat sequel that no one is expecting, one that can sneak in and “blow everyone away.“

Slater told ComicBook.com, “I’m so excited for people to see the movie. It’s been done for a while. We’ve been waiting for the right release date and waiting for the right window. I have been to those test screenings, which are full of Mortal Kombat fans, and watching them react to it the way I reacted to Avengers: Endgame. They were cheering and jumping out of their seats. Every joke is landing and they are loving it. It’s one of the greatest moments of my life. That’s why you get into this business.” As for his approach to writing the script, he said, “We came in with certain guide posts that were already in place. The previous movie promised there was a tournament coming and that Johnny Cage was going to be part of the story, somehow. Those were the two things we knew we had to work with and around. I was adamant that we had to have this tournament in the movie. We can’t make people wait another movie and then be like, ‘Come back for the finale.’ It was finding a structure to make the tournament as satisfying as you want it to be because this had years of build-up. It’s figuring out who the individual matches are going to be, which characters do you pair off for maximum emotional impact, but also for the most dynamic fights. Then, also, what is the larger story you are telling between the tournament? I was very cognizant that we need to be telling a story on the margins where there is just as much exciting stuff happening outside of the tournament as inside of the tournament, so you’re never bored and both of these stories are moving the movie forward.“

CAST

Lewis Tan played Cole Young in Mortal Kombat, a new character who had some mysterious ties to the mythology of the series. He reprises the role in the sequel – and before production started, he told Film Updates, that he hoped Mortal Kombat 2 would be bigger and bloodier than the first movie. “We got an amazing writer, Jeremy Slater, who wrote Moon Knight for Marvel, on board. His writing is really good and he’s really smart. I’m excited to see what he develops, because it’s a tricky one with Mortal Kombat. There are so many storylines. It’s very complex; there are so many characters. It’s a hard one to get done in a two-hour period or an hour and a half. Hopefully, they can make the sequel a little bit longer and we can explore more characters and more themes, and just make it even bloodier and even bigger than the first one. That’s our plan.”

In addition to Tan, cast members returning from the previous Mortal Kombat movie are Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao.

Now, the new additions. Fans have been anxiously waiting to see the Johnny Cage character, and there were a lot of fan casting suggestions: Ryan Reynolds, James Marsden, wrestler The Miz. That last one was such a popular bit of fan-casting, The Miz even told ComicBook.com that he had been hitting the gym to make sure he would be prepared to play the character if he got the call. “I have been working on my splits. I’ve been working on my kicks. As soon as I saw that Mortal Kombat was out and there was no Johnny Cage yet and my name was literally trending worldwide No.1, ‘We want Miz as Johnny Cage’, I was like, ‘if they want that to happen, I need to basically make sure that I am prepared and ready if that opportunity presents itself, then I will be ready and focused.” But, the job didn’t go to The Miz. Instead, it was The Boys star Karl Urban who was cast to play Johnny Cage. And it sounds like he had a blast working on the project. He wrote on social media that Mortal Kombat 2 was “hands down the most action packed fun I’ve ever had on a film!“

Ed Boon, Mortal Kombat co-creator and head of gaming developer NetherRealm Studios, gushed about Johnny Cage making his grand entrance to the story, “You finally get to see Johnny Cage. His integration into the Mortal Kombat story and universe is a big part of what this movie explores. He’s a washed-up Hollywood guy thrown into this magical, ultra-violent thing. Karl, his depiction of Johnny Cage is different than our games in some ways. He’s adding his own flare to it, but I think it’ll feel fresh. There’s like a novelty factor in there.”

Cage will serve as the audience surrogate for the tournament, just as the character of Cole provided for the first film. Boon boasts that Cage’s introduction is “ridiculously hilarious,” and says it got “some of the biggest laughs” from the early screenings of Mortal Kombat 2. Meanwhile, director Simon McQuoid would try to find a way to make Cage complete and not an all-out farce, “We wanted a character that wasn’t just completely silly, comic book…It’s a character that could instantly go there and become too light and throwaway if we were to lean too much into the kind of cheese. The casting of Karl Urban for that role allowed that character to have more depth.”

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina actress Adeline Rudolph was cast to play Princess Kitana, who is 10,000 years old and the stepdaughter of the evil Shao Khan. Rudolph’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina co-star Tati Gabrielle was cast as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana.

Bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) landed the role of Outworld emperor Shao Kahn, with Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel, Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi, and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament. It looks like we’ll be seeing a flashback to Jerrod’s downfall in this movie. Speaking to ComingSoon, Ford, who also played Goliath in the Prime Video series House of David said that Shao Khan was a dream role. “The last few years I’ve had a massive opportunity to play various characters of stature. It just seems like one dream happens and the next one comes. The last three characters I’ve played have been Flamma (in Those About to Die), who is a gladiator within history, the greatest gladiator of all time. Then Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat 2, and then to play Goliath just topped it off. So for me, I’m not sure where I go from this as far as baddies are concerned. I think I’ve probably hit three of the greatest baddies of all time and Goliath being the ultimate icing on the cake.“

Ludi Lin told Screen Rant the sequel is “gonna be pretty immense, everything is going to be bigger. The story’s going to be great. Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, I hope you guys are ready, because he’s going to blow your socks off.” He said that Urban fills out the role of Johnny Cage, and the essence that he brings to the character adds another dimension to it, helping bring the movie to the next level.

Speaking with The Direct, Lawson took a moment to hype up the return of his character Kano, who was killed in the first movie. “I can say that in the second Mortal Kombat, Kano has a new chapter in his life, that being death. And, you know, death alters you. So yeah, prepare yourselves for a Kano 2.0. As we all know, if anyone’s a fan of games, Kano’s alliances can change at the drop of a hat, and that’s certainly true in the second one… [It’s going to] keep you on your toes guessing [about] who Kano’s kind of siding with.“

PRODUCTION

Mortal Kombat 2 started filming in June of 2023 – but hadn’t been rolling for long before production had to shut down due to the writers and actors strikes. After a four month break, filming resumed in November and wrapped in January of 2024. James Wan’s Atomic Monster and Michael Clear are producing Mortal Kombat 2 alongside Broken Road Production’s Todd Garner. Simon McQuoid and E. Bennett Walsh are also producers on the film. Also more involved in the process this time around was Mortal Kombat video game co-creator Ed Boon.

Lewis Tan also told ComicBook.com, “Now, we have Ed Boon with us as well, so we got the stamp of approval from the legend himself. #2 is just going to be absolutely insane. Way bigger.” Ed Boon told Polygon, “Warner Bros. owns the IP, but I’m actually more involved now. I’m involved with the animated series, and the next movie that’s coming out, so it’s very exciting, because there’s some really cool stuff that’s being worked on. Just being involved in the scripts and which characters we’re going to include [in projects], and all that stuff, is very exciting for me. Before, I was involved, but not in an official capacity. Now, it’s a little bit more official. And it’s an exciting time — I can’t wait to see people’s reaction to some of the crazy stuff that’s coming out.“

The 2021 Mortal Kombat was rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references. In November of 2024, we learned that sequel has been rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, and language.

PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL

As production came to an end, producer Todd Garner took to social media to share some behind-the-scenes images, while cast members also celebrated the successful completion of the film.

In February of 2025, the film’s logo and a Johnny Cage poster were unveiled:

At the CinemaCon event in April, a Mortal Kombat II sizzle reel was shown, ending with Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage exclaiming, “I’m Johnny f***ing Cage!” New Line chief Richard Brenner, who introduced the movie, added that we should “Expect amazing fights, epic battles and a few fatalities.” It has been hinted that the trailer will be dropping online in July.

The film is set to hit theatres on October 24th. And that’s everything we know about Mortal Kombat 2… for now.

The post Everything We Know About Mortal Kombat 2 appeared first on JoBlo.

Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel Mortal Kombat 2, and while the video game adaptation wrapped production back in January of 2024 after a bumpy ride through the year of the strikes, they had to go back for some reshoots last summer. So we still don’t know when this movie is going to be released – but it is starting to take some steps forward. Back in November, we learned that Mortal Kombat 2 has been rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, and language. Now, a logo for the film has been unveiled, along with a poster featuring the character of actor Johnny Cage, played by Karl Urban. You can check those images out at the bottom of this article.

The screenplay for Mortal Kombat 2 has been written by Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight. A while back, Slater said that working on the project had been “really fun so far. … I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’ … (The sequel is) the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.“

The sequel stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Karl Urban (Dredd) as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat 2? Take a look at the logo and the Johnny Cage poster, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

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With 2024 coming to a close, it’s time to start looking to the future for our cinema needs. What does the year hold in store for us cinephiles? While 2024 held some surprise hits, giant blockbusters, and small films that could, it’s looking like 2025 movie releases will hold more of the same. We can hope that the good fortune that Hollywood has brought us will continue into the new year and keep theater attendance up. Here’s our 2025 Movie Preview:

Den Of Thieves: Pantera – January 10

Gerard Butler is back chasing down diamond thieves on the streets of Europe. He stumbles across the planning of the largest diamond heist ever planned. If you liked the first movie, then this will probably be more of the same. I’m personally happy that Gerard Butler is making some fun B-movie action films like back in the day. Plane was fun, and I’m excited to see these types of films at the theater again.

Better Man – January 10

A biopic about UK pop star Robbie Williams as we see his childhood all the way through his superstardom. Robbie will be playing himself, but how do you do that without it being weird? What if you make it so he’s a chimp? Sure. With Pharrell releasing his biopic as a Lego movie and now Robbie Williams replacing himself with a CGI chimp it seems biopics are really trying to gain quirk appeal.

Back In Action – January 17

Cameron Diaz is coming out of retirement and teaming up with Jamie Foxx for this Netflix original film. They play former CIA agents who are pulled back in when their identities are exposed. While I’m glad to see Diaz back on screen after a decade away, it’s odd that this generic spy action movie did it. Maybe just the idea of being in a movie with Jamie Foxx again was enough.

Star Trek: Section 31 – January 24

This direct to Paramount+ film is a spin off from Star Trek: Discovery starring Michelle Yeoh as her character Philippa Georgiou. This was originally planned as a series, but after COVID-19 delays, it was scrapped. Later they revived the idea for an original movie. Star Trek has always been a beloved franchise but with new movies going direct to streaming, will we ever see them return to the big screen?

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy – February 13

For the first time in nine years, Bridget Jones is back! Only this time, it will be on Peacock in the United States and then in theaters everywhere else in the world. Seems backwards but okay. Bridget Jones is now a single mom and trying to figure out how that works when you’re trying to get back into the dating pool. Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant return, along with some other familiar faces. Are we past the Bridget Jones fandom, or is there still more life in this franchise?

Captain America: Brave New World – February 14

After the events of Falcon And The Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie is donning the shield as the new Captain America. Harrison Ford steps in for the late William Hurt as the new President Ross, who has a big red secret to share. Marvel only had one release last summer, and it seemed to work really well for them. Let’s see if something without Hugh Jackman’s claws still registers for Marvel fans.

Mickey 17 – March 7

The new film from Bong Joon-ho sees Robert Pattinson sent on a space mission because he is seen as expendable. With technology, he can be regenerated if something goes wrong. This time, something goes wrong, and he begins to experience an existential crisis. This darkly comedic film looks like a good time as we see Mickey die in numerous different ways and still have to get up to go to work the next day.

Black Bag – March 14

Steven Soderberg’s spy thriller is coming out with no details on the plot. With a cast that includes Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, and Pierce Brosnan, you can bet lots of people will be interested in checking it out. Soderberg has always had an interesting take on just about any film he releases, and this will be no different.

Snow White – March 21

Disney continues its trend of doing live-action remakes of its old animated films. This one caused a stir when it was announced, as people seemed divided on how to handle the seven dwarfs aspect of the film. Ultimately, the dwarves will be completely CGI. It will be interesting to see how this plays in a modern culture. Expect some new songs, and Gal Gadot will be playing the evil queen, which is inspired casting compared to the look of the original character.

A Minecraft Movie – April 4

With Super Mario Bros. and the Sonic movies being big hits, it’s no surprise that the hugely popular game Minecraft would be getting its own movie. Jack Black once again jumps on board to play Steve, the generic character most players take control of when booting up Minecraft. Jason Mamoa, Jennifer Coolidge, and Kate McKinnon round out the cast as random characters are pulled into the cubic world and need the help of an expert crafter to get home. Seems very Jumanji.

The Accountant 2 – April 25

I don’t think anyone saw this sequel coming. In the first film, Ben Affleck played a neuro-divergent accountant who had a side job as a hitman. The film was a modest hit but nothing that would seem to warrant a sequel. Some other familiar faces from the first one return.

Thunderbolts* – May 2

The second of Marvel’s offerings this year sees a bunch of cast-off characters from previous Marvel films being rounded up for a new agency. Yelena will be leading the team of previous supervillains who are now taking jobs for the government. Of course, this will be complicated by a lot of in-fighting and some unexpected speedbumps. The trailer makes this look like a lot of fun so here’s hoping it will give MCU fans some laughs while providing some great action scenes.

Lilo & Stitch – May 23

This is the second of Disney’s live-action remakes. Stitch crash-lands on Earth and is adopted by a young girl. Hijinks ensue as others come looking for him. The original had a great sense of humor, and the trailers showing Stitch invading other Disney properties were great. I have no idea if this will translate well into live-action, but kids will probably love it.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – May 23

This was originally titled Dead Reckoning Part II, but after the last film underperformed, the title was quickly changed. It will continue the storyline from the last film, and we see Ethan Hunt trying to stop the deadly AI from causing worldwide chaos. Of course in order to shut it down, they have to make their way to the submarine that is crashed on the ocean floor.

Karate Kid: Legends – May 30

The franchise returns to the big screen as we see Daniel from the original and Mr. Han from the 2010 “remake” join forces to mentor a new student. It’s a strange crossing of the streams which retcons the remake into being set in the same continuity. With Cobra Kai just ending when this hits theaters, will fans even care enough to go check it out? Fans of the original movie got their nostalgia fix with the series. Are there people who have nostalgia for the 2010 movie?

From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina – June 6

The spin-off of the John Wick films hits the big screen. We were introduced to the Ballerinas in John Wick 3. Now they get a film all their own while Keanu Reeves will still make an appearance since this is set during that time period. Ana de Armas takes over the role of Eve as she looks to get revenge on the people who killed her family. The intricate world of John Wick is fascinating to explore, and this gives us a chance to see even more of it.

Elio – June 13

An animated film from Disney that follows Elio. He’s a young space fanatic who gets tasked with saving the universe. They have been struggling to come up with animated films that really stick with audiences that aren’t already established Pixar properties. The shine of the early Pixar films has really dimmed after Disney bought them. Hopefully we can see Disney regain its footing with animated films like we used to have.

How To Train Your Dragon – June 13

Dreamworks seems to be taking a cue from Disney and remaking some of their more popular animated properties. We’re getting another round of dragons as we see the first meeting of Hiccup and Toothless. Again. Not sure if this trend will ever end, but at least Dreamworks doesn’t have as deep of a catalog as Disney. When can we expect to see a live-action Kung Fu Panda?

Jurassic World: Rebirth – July 2

Scarlett Johanssen is taking the lead role this time around. No one seems to have learned any lesson about bringing dinosaurs back to life. This time it looks like explorers have to go in to get DNA samples from some prehistoric animals to help cure a disease. Universal really just wants to see if there is any juice left to squeeze out of this fruit. It may be time to let it sleep for a few decades before heading back in.

Superman – July 11

James Gunn takes his stab at the Man of Steel as the DC Universe reboots itself on-screen once again. Reports are that Gunn held an early screening for WB execs and that it did not go well. That could be internet fodder, but it doesn’t instill a lot of hope for the new version of the DCU. With the DC shows on the CW just wrapping up, we’ll have to see if Gunn’s Superman will connect with comic fans. The recent trailer seemed to gain a lot of views very quickly, so we at least know that fans are interested.

The Smurfs Movie – July 18

Those magical little blue creatures will grace theater screens once again. This time, the film will be fully animated and musical. Paramount/Nickelodeon will take on the film, and it seems to be inspired by the popularity of the Troll movies. Rhianna will voice Smurfette and be joined by Nick Offerman, John Goodman, Kurt Russell, Dan Levy, and Hannah Waddingham.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps – July 25

Marvel’s first family finally makes their way into the MCU. While they have been on-screen before as part of Fox’s Marvel movies, this time, we’ll see what the MCU has in store for the group. Marvel’s third film in six months will really test if audiences are in superhero fatigue or not. The early footage shown at Comicon seems fun, so hopefully, it will bring something new.

Naked Gun – August 1

Liam Neeson is hoping to try something drastically different than we’ve seen from him before. He has some big shoes to fill, as Leslie Nielsen based the whole second half of his career on the original Naked Gun. It will be hard to see anyone else trying to play that role. Plus, does that type of comedy have a place anymore?

Freakier Friday – August 8

Disney’s calendar of releases this year is crazy, as we see the reteaming of Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. The last film was a remake of an old Disney Classic. Now, twenty-one years later, we are getting a sequel. Expect more body-swapping jokes as the Lindsay Lohan resurgence seems to be taking shape. She’s been on an upswing lately, and hopefully, we can see her get a victory lap as she has matured.

Nobody 2 – August 15

Somehow, Bob Odenkirk became an action star after starring in Nobody back in 2021. Now, we get to see some more middle-aged dad action as he returns for this sequel. The first movie really worked to show what appears to be an ordinary man who decides to get back into a life he left a long time ago. Now that we have seen him for what he really is, here’s hoping for more action and more Christopher Lloyd running around with a shotgun.

Downton Abbey 3 – September 12

The third film spin-off of the popular period drama. Many of the cast return to once again play their characters, showing the divide between the upper class and the working class. This drama captivated audiences when it first premiered, and both previous films have been big hits. It only makes sense to keep it going with another film.

Tron: Ares – October 10

We’re traveling back into the world of Tron. Jeff Bridges is back, along with a slew of other familiar faces like Jodie Turner-Smith, Evan Peters, and Jared Leto. This time, a program is sent from the digital world to the real world. Each Tron film so far has pushed the boundaries in terms of special effects and technical marvels. Let’s see what they come up with this time.

Mortal Kombat 2 – October 24

We’re heading back to the arcade, so get your quarters ready. The reboot of the Mortal Kombat franchise continues as our heroes are heading back to Outland to continue the fight for all existence. The last film was released during the pandemic, so a true gauge of the popularity is hard to judge, but audiences seem to have a positive response. During the initial film franchise run, the second entry pushed it off a cliff. We can hope they learned their lesson.

Now You See Me 3 – November 14

Another entry into the magic mystery franchise is in the pipeline. All of our sleight-of-hand artists are returning, but no plot has been released so far. The previous movies have gained an audience through their unique use of stage magic and illusions to foil their adversaries. It is a fun and interesting way of doing a mystery based action film. If it lives up to the previous entries, then audiences should leave the theater happy.

Wicked: For Good – November 21

The second part of the recent smash hit. Those who haven’t seen the Broadway play or read the book will get to see how the story ends. I expect more fantastic songs, some great visuals, and more Oz. We all need all the Oz we can get. Let’s all get ready to defy gravity once again.

Zootopia 2 – November 26

Disney has quite the release schedule this year, and we’re not even done yet. Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are teaming up to solve a wild case that could change their entire lives. It will be fun to travel back into the world of Zootopia and see where the characters are. It looks like more of the same fun we had in the last film.

Avatar: Fire And Ash – December 19

It’s time to head back to Pandora. Last time James Cameron dealt with water motifs and explored more of the world. Looks like we’ll be dealing with fire this time around. While the films seem to always be a wonder of motion capture and CGI, it would be great to see Cameron go back to other projects before his film career comes to an end. We can always hope.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants – December 19

Hey Kids! SpongeBob is back with another movie. This time, he will explore the depths of the ocean to deal with the ghost of the Flying Dutchman. This franchise just keeps engaging generation after generation. At this point, The Simpsons might be about the only animated franchise that has lasted longer. As long as fans keep checking out the movies, the more they will keep making.

What 2025 movie releases are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments. And, if you’re looking for more info on horror releases, check out our horror movie preview HERE!

The post 2025 Movie Preview: All the big movies hitting theaters next year! appeared first on JoBlo.

The Kano character didn’t make it through the 2021 Mortal Kombat movie alive, getting taken out with a garden gnome to the eye… but that isn’t stopping Josh Lawson from reprising the role in the sequel Mortal Kombat 2. Speaking with The Direct, Lawson took a moment to hype up his character’s return, saying viewers should prepare themselves for Kano 2.0.

Director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel, working from a screenplay written by Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight. Last year, Slater said that working on the project had been “really fun so far. … I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’ … (The sequel is) the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.“

The sequel stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Karl Urban (Dredd) as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

As mentioned, Mortal Kombat 2 also features Josh Lawson as Kano. Lawson told The Direct, “I can say that in the second Mortal Kombat, Kano has a new chapter in his life, that being death. And, you know, death alters you. So yeah, prepare yourselves for a Kano 2.0. As we all know, if anyone’s a fan of games, Kano’s alliances can change at the drop of a hat, and that’s certainly true in the second one… [It’s going to] keep you on your toes guessing [about] who Kano’s kind of siding with.“

The video game adaptation wrapped production back in January after a bumpy ride through the year of the strikes, then they had to go back for some reshoots this past summer. We still don’t know when this movie is going to be released – but it shouldn’t be much longer before we’re hearing release date news, because the Motion Picture Association ratings board has seen the movie and given it a rating! Mortal Kombat 2 has been rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, and language. 

Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat 2, and to seeing Josh Lawson as Kano 2.0? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel Mortal Kombat 2, and while the video game adaptation wrapped production back in January after a bumpy ride through the year of the strikes, they had to go back for some reshoots this past summer. So we still don’t know when this movie is going to be released – but it shouldn’t be much longer before we’re hearing release date news, because the Motion Picture Association ratings board has seen the movie and given it a rating! Mortal Kombat 2 has been rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, and language. The previous movie was rated R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, and some crude references.

The screenplay for Mortal Kombat 2 has been written by Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight. Last year, Slater said that working on the project had been “really fun so far. … I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’ … (The sequel is) the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.“

The sequel stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Karl Urban (Dredd) as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat 2? What do you think of the reasons given for the R rating? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel Mortal Kombat 2, and while the video game adaptation wrapped production back in January after a bumpy ride through the year of the strikes, it sounds like they’re doing some reshoots at the moment. Ludi Lin reprises the role of Liu Kang in the new film, and while doing the press rounds for the martial arts movie Art of Eight Limbs, where he co-stars with former TV Spider-Man Nicholas Hammond, Lin took a moment to hype Mortal Kombat 2 to the folks at Screen Rant, saying the sequel is bigger and better than its predecessor, and that Karl Urban’s performance as popular video game character Johnny Cage will “blow your socks off.”

The screenplay for Mortal Kombat 2 has been written by Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight. Last year, Slater said that working on the project had been “really fun so far. … I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’ … (The sequel is) the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.“

In addition to Lin and Urban, Mortal Kombat 2 stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and, as mentioned, Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Lin told Screen Rant, “I hope you guys are ready for the next one. We’ve been shooting this one forever, I’m back in Australia still shooting MK 2. I was here for almost a year last time. Yeah, it’s gonna be pretty immense, everything is going to be bigger. The story’s going to be great. Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, I hope you guys are ready, because he’s going to blow your socks off. Just from the experience that actors like Karl, actors like Nicholas [Hammond] brings on set… He mentioned that, in Art of Eight Limbs, they really changed the script – started tweaking it – after they found out that they’d nailed an actor like him to play the role. You can tell, as soon as he comes on it really fills out the entire movie, he fills out the role, just like Karl does with Johnny Cage. There’s just a level of expertise, there’s some toolbox, the essence that they bring to the role just adds another dimension to it. In both cases I really look up to actors like this that can really bring a movie to the next level.“

While we wait to hear a release date for Mortal Kombat 2, Art of Eight Limbs is getting a theatrical release on August 16th, in a double feature with another martial arts movie called The Lockdown. Art of Eight Limbs will then be getting a digital release on August 20th, with The Lockdown following on August 27th. On September 10th, those movies will be bundled with two more martial arts movies, Lady Scorpions and Kung Fu Games, for the digital release Tiger Style Presents: The Ultimate 4-Movie Martial Arts Collection. Trailers for the films can be seen in this article.

Are you looking forward to seeing Ludi Lin and Karl Urban in Mortal Kombat 2? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Warner Bros. has announced the official release date for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, with the DCU movie set to hit theaters on June 26, 2026. Additionally, the studio unveiled release dates for several of its other big movies, including Mortal Kombat 2, which will hit theaters on October 24, 2025.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will star Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) in the title role, with the film set to be scripted by Ana Nogueira and based on the Tom King comic series of the same name. Craig Gillespie (Cruella) is expected to direct the movie, but DC Studios co-chief James Gunn has teased that this version of Supergirl will be different. “In our series we see the difference between Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he was an infant, versus Supergirl who was raised on a rock, a chip off Krypton, and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life, and then came to Earth when she was a young girl,” Gunn said. “She’s much more hardcore, she’s not exactly the Supergirl we’re use to seeing.” Production will begin later this year.

The Supergirl movie will be the second theatrical installment of the new DC Universe, following in the footsteps of Gunn’s Superman movie, which will hit theaters on July 11, 2025. It has been teased that Supergirl might appear in another DC project before her solo movie.

As for Mortal Kombat 2, the sequel to the R-rated 2021 movie wrapped production in January. Simon McQuoid returns to direct from a script by Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight), with a cast which includes Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Mehcad Brooks, Joe Taslim, Hiroyuki Sanada, Adeline Rudolph, Tati Gabrielle, Ludi Lin, Tadanobu Asano, chin Han, Martyn Ford, and Karl Urban as fan-favourite character Johnny Cage. When Urban completed his work on the film, he took to social media to give a “massive thanks to our incredible crew, cast and phenomenal stunt team. Hands down the most action packed fun I’ve ever had on a film! Can’t wait for y’all to see it. Special thanks to everyone offset who helped make this time here on the Gold Coast Australia such a pleasure.“

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Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel Mortal Kombat 2, which recently wrapped production after a bumpy ride through the year of the strikes. This film will be bringing popular video game character Johnny Cage to the screen, with Karl Urban of Dredd, Star Trek, and The Boys taking on the role. Despite Urban’s established awesomeness, he was an unexpected choice for Johnny Cage, and there are some fans who have let it be known that they would have chosen someone else to play the part. We’ll have to wait and see how it turned out, but one thing we know right now is that Urban had a great time working on the movie, calling it “most action packed fun I’ve ever had on a film!”

Urban said that while celebrating the end of production on Instagram, where he made a post that can be seen at the bottom of this article. He wrote, “That’s a picture wrap for me & Johnny Cage on Mortal Kombat 2! Massive thanks to our incredible crew, cast and phenomenal stunt team. Hands down the most action packed fun I’ve ever had on a film! Can’t wait for y’all to see it. Special thanks to everyone offset who helped make this time here on the Gold Coast Australia such a pleasure.“

The screenplay for Mortal Kombat 2 has been written by Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight. Last year, Slater said that working on the project had been “really fun so far. … I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’ … (The sequel is) the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.“

In addition to Urban, Mortal Kombat 2 stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and, as mentioned, Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat 2, and to seeing Karl Urban play Johnny Cage? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel Mortal Kombat 2, which started filming at the end of June last year… then had to shut down production when the Screen Actors Guild strike hit a couple weeks later. That strike came to an end in November, and filming resumed on Mortal Kombat 2 very soon after. Now filming has wrapped, and we know this because Max Huang, who plays Kung Lao in these movies, shared pictures from the wrap party! You can check them out at the bottom of this article, along with some images producer Todd Garner shared to social media during the production.

The screenplay for Mortal Kombat 2 has been written by Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight. Last year, Slater said that working on the project had been “really fun so far. … I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’ … (The sequel is) the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.“

Mortal Kombat 2 stars returning Mortal Kombat cast members Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and, as mentioned, Max Huang as Kung Lao. New additions include Karl Urban (Dredd) as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat 2, and are you glad to hear that filming has wrapped? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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A post shared by Max Huang 黄又亮 (@maxhuangofficial)

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Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is back at the helm for the sequel Mortal Kombat 2, which started filming at the end of June… then had to shut down production when the Screen Actors Guild strike hit a couple weeks later. That strike came to an end last week, and it was rumored that Mortal Kombat 2 would go back into production in early 2024. When producer Todd Garner saw that rumor, he tweeted, “This is not true. We are filming before then…” Way before then, as it turns out. Garner and cast member Karl Urban have both confirmed that Mortal Kombat 2 is already filming again!

Urban confirmed by sharing a picture that shows him hanging out with some of his castmates. You can check it out at the bottom of this article.

The screenplay for Mortal Kombat II has been written by Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight. Last year, Slater said that working on the project had been “really fun so far. … I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’ … (The sequel is) the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.“

Urban is taking on the role of Johnny Cage and is joined in the cast by  returning Mortal Kombat stars Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. Urban’s fellow new additions include Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Are you glad to hear Mortal Kombat 2 has already resumed filming? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.

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The release of Mortal Kombat 1 is just around the corner, and it was confirmed today that Megan Fox has lent her voice to Nitara. The vampire comes from the realm of Vaeternus and joins the fight to protect her race. You can check out a gruesome gameplay video of Nitara in action below, which also features Megan Fox talking about joining the Mortal Kombat franchise.

“She comes from this weird realm, she is a type of vampire creature,” Megan Fox said in the video. “She’s evil but she’s also good. She’s trying to save her people. I really like her. She’s a vampire which obviously resonates for whatever reason. It’s cool to be in the game, you know? Because I’m not really just voicing it, it’ll be like she’s kind of me.“

Mortal Kombat 1 is the latest title in the acclaimed Mortal Kombat videogame franchise developed by award-winning NetherRealm Studios. The game will introduce a reborn Mortal Kombat Universe that has been created by the Fire God Liu Kang, featuring reimagined versions of iconic characters as they’ve never been seen before, along with a new fighting system, game modes, bone krushing finishing moves, and more. Mortal Kombat 1 will be released on September 19th (or September 14th for early access) on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Production on the Mortal Kombat sequel has been halted due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, but it has already been shaping up to be a much-improved follow-up to the first movie. The film features a few new additions to the cast, including Karl Urban as Johnny Cage, Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Martyn Ford as emperor Shao Kahn, Damon Herriman as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi, Desmond Chiam as Edenian King Jerrod, and Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel. Returning cast members include Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao.

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While this may get repetitive since nearly every film production is shutting down per the actors’ strike, there are notable big-budget tentpole films that are finding themselves in the middle of the trouble. It was already reported that Gladiator 2 and Mortal Kombat 2 were halted as soon as the actors’ strike took effect. Then, Deadpool 3 would follow as the next major franchise project to shut down, which is unfortunate timing since Hugh Jackman just teased a set pic featuring him in a full-on Wolverine comic-accurate costume. Inevitably, fans have been spreading the pic and already posting fan art merely hours after the reveal as fanboy excitement has shot up even more for the sequel.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, two more follow-ups to blockbusters have ceased production amid the strike. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, which had been filming back-to-back with this week’s release, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, has shut down. The ambitious two-part project had already experienced delays due to COVID. However, despite being filmed in conjunction with Part One, the production is as grand as ever as it films in multiple locations and even features scenes on an aircraft carrier. Furthermore, the film’s star, Tom Cruise, insists on practical filming, so the complicated process likely doesn’t allow for a swift filming schedule.

Some of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two‘s filming locations included more Italian cities after Part One took place in both Rome and Venice. Part Two recently had Cruise flying to Bari, which is the capital city of the Apulia region. Cruise and company were filming at the exotic location for a coastal shoot. Another blockbuster follow-up, Venom 3, just started filming in the Cartagena neighborhood of Los Mateos in Spain. The commencement was marked by Tom Hardy, who returns as the film’s star, when he posted a photo on his Instagram from location. The timing for this is comparable to Deadpool 3 as the movie just started filming a couple weeks ago.

Marvel has a ton of projects on its slate, even though it’s now planned that Bob Iger will be scaling back on the quantity. With the shutdowns, Marvel heads, Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito shared an email with the staff that stated, “We recognize how much you’ve all done on your specific projects and it’s disappointing when carefully laid plans have to shift, but constant change is the nature of the production business, and our teams are no stranger to unexpected challenges and rising to meet them. We deeply appreciate all your efforts to make the best of the situation, and we can all hope that a new agreement will be finalized soon so we can resume the great work we have in process.”

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Hollywood comes at a standstill after the Screen Actors Guild voted on a strike after negotiations broke down with the studio system in which Disney’s Bob Iger, Warner Bros’ David Zaslav, and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos called in Federal mediators for assistance with the conference. The Writers’ Guild had been on strike since the beginning of May, and the Screen Actors Guild will now join in picketing in a dual strike that hasn’t been seen since 1960. The plane of entertainment, however, is much more glut than the last time this happened. This is especially significant with streaming services and studio franchises running marathons of constant competition with each other.

Variety reports that among the projects that have prepared to shut down are Ridley Scott’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning Gladiator, and the sequel to the 2021 re-adaptation of the popular video game Mortal Kombat. Interestingly, many of these big-budget Hollywood projects film on location outside of the country. The U.K. houses many film productions and had seen a slowdown prior to the strikes. A senior British union executive, who asked to keep their identity secret, has said, “We’ve always said if the circus leaves town, what sorts of indigenous production do we have? Large parts of Europe and Australia will be in the same situation, and this will have a global impact. We have been relying on inward investment and this exposes a weak point.”

A top agent who manages a lot of high-profile British stars added, “A lot of actors are talking about striking in support, and it will undoubtedly affect the business in the U.K. as a whole.” While a U.S.-based financier asks, “Some British actors have done one or two U.S. movies and gotten into SAG-AFTRA. Will they go in solidarity with the strike?” And another European film exec adds, “Let’s say we’re shooting something with a big European director in Europe, and 90% of the cast is European and non-SAG-AFTRA, but you have two key roles played by U.S. talent. Will the movie stop and not get done or will those roles be substituted with European non-SAG-AFTRA actors? I suspect what will happen is it will depend on the talent. If the reception is, ‘This is going to be a quick strike,’ directors will say, ‘Let’s wait.’ But if it looks like a long one, it could mean those roles will be changed.”

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A couple weeks ago, Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid rounded out the cast of the sequel – which is apparently simply titled Mortal Kombat II. Last weekend, we saw a picture of several cast members in a restaurant together. And now Ludi Lin (who plays Liu Kang in these new films) took to Instagram to reveal that filming has officially started! He shared pictures of a clapperboard and his salad, and those can be seen at the bottom of this article.

The screenplay for Mortal Kombat II has been written by Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight. Last year, Slater said that working on the project had been “really fun so far. … I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’ … (The sequel is) the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.“

Ludi Lin is joined in the cast by fellow returning Mortal Kombat stars Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao. The new additions include Karl Urban (The Boys) as Johnny Cage; Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Princess Kitana; Tati Gabrielle (You) as Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana; Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi; bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as Outworld emperor Shao Kahn; Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka) as Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel; and Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride) as Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament.

Are you glad to hear that Mortal Kombat II is now filming? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Mortal Kombat 2 recently started filming in Australia and producer Todd Garner shared a photo of the cast enjoying a meal. If you take a look at the photo, you’ll see Karl Urban sporting some frosted tips and a more clean-shaven face to play Johnny Cage.

Johnny Cage is an action movie star and martial artist who first appeared in the original Mortal Kombat game released in 1992. The character didn’t appear in the recent Mortal Kombat movie, but a post-credit scene teased that he would be on his way. It was announced earlier this year that Karl Urban was in talks to play Johnny Cage. I’m excited to see the actor in costume for the first time, but I have no doubt that he’s going to knock the role out of the park.

The Mortal Kombat sequel will once again be directed by Simon McQuoid, with Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight) writing the script. In addition to Karl Urban, the film will feature a few new additions to the cast, including Adeline Rudolph as Kitana, Tati Gabrielle as Jade, Martyn Ford as emperor Shao Kahn, Damon Herriman as Netherrealm demon Quan Chi, Desmond Chiam as Edenian King Jerrod, and Ana Thu Nguyen as Queen Sindel. Returning cast members include Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao.

Although Mortal Kombat‘s reception was quite mixed, those behind the scenes know that there’s a lot of room for improvement. ScreenwriterJeremy Slater has said that they’re viewing the Mortal Kombat sequel as “the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.” Slater added that he wants to make the Mortal Kombat sequel that no one is expecting, one that can sneak in and “blow everyone away.“

Lewis Tan played Cole Young in the first Mortal Kombat movie, a new character who had some mysterious ties to the series’ mythology, and he’s previously expressed hope that the sequel will be bigger and bloodier. “There are so many storylines,” Tan said. “It’s very complex; there are so many characters. It’s a hard one to get done in a two-hour period or an hour and a half. Hopefully, they can make the sequel a little bit longer and we can explore more characters and more themes, and just make it even bloodier and even bigger than the first one. That’s our plan.”

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Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid is returning to the helm for the sequel that we’ll refer to as Mortal Kombat 2 until someone tells us otherwise. Filming on this follow-up is expected to begin soon (unless the writers strike causes a delay), and over the last month and a half McQuoid has been steadily building up his cast. The Boys star Karl Urban has been cast to play Johnny Cage; Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) is set to play Princess Kitana; and Tati Gabrielle (You) is taking on the role of Jade, the friend and bodyguard of Princess Kitana. Now Deadline reports that four more actors have joined the cast, filling the roles of Outworld emperor Shao Kahn, Kahn’s wife Queen Sindel, Netherrealm demon Quan Chi, and Jerrod, who was the King of Edenia (and married to Sindel) until Edenia’s warriors lost in the Mortal Kombat tournament. It looks like we’ll be seeing a flashback to Jerrod’s downfall in this movie.

Shao Kahn will be played by bodybuilder/actor Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga). Queen Sindel will be played by Ana Thu Nguyen (Suka). Damon Herriman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) has been cast as Quan Chi. And Jerrod will be played by Desmond Chiam (Joy Ride).

Cast members returning from the previous Mortal Kombat movie are Lewis Tan as MMA fighter Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Josh Lawson as Kano, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao.

The screenplay for Mortal Kombat 2 has been written by Jeremy Slater, who was the lead writer on the Marvel / Disney+ series Moon Knight. Last year, Slater said that working on the project had been “really fun so far. … I’m working really closely with the director and the studios, and the game guys, and I think—I can’t say anything about the actual story, but I think they definitely learned some lessons the last time around in terms of, ‘Here’s the stuff fans responded to, and here’s what people liked out of the movie, and here’s the stuff that didn’t work out as well as we hoped.’ … (The sequel is) the chance to take everything that worked in the first one and do it even better and give the audience even more, and make something that is just incredibly satisfying, and really exciting, and unpredictable.“

Tan has promised that the sequel will be “absolutely insane” and “way bigger” than its predecessor.

Are you looking forward to Mortal Kombat 2? What do you think of the cast that has been assembled for this one? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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