The first trailer for Mortal Kombat 2, sequel to the 2021 film adaptation of the beloved fighting game franchise, has officially arrived. After weeks of poster drops teasing the arrival of Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage, we’ve finally got our first real look at the character – and the clearest indication that he’ll be the new main protagonist, replacing Lewis Tan’s lukewarmly received Cole Young, who led the action of the first film.
The trailer begins with the introduction of Cage, a washed up film star of the 1990s with a background in martial arts. After a brief encounter with Tadanobu Asano’s Lord Raiden and Jessica McNamee’s Sonya Blade, Cage is invited to participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament, fighting on the side of Earthrealm.
What follows is a supercut of various fights and training sequences showing off Cage’s martial arts skills, as well as highlighting all the heroes and villains he’ll face. Notably, the trailer confirms Josh Lawson’s Kano is back, despite seemingly perishing in the last film. New fighters include Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and Jade (Tati Gabrielle), both of whom get neat showcases in this first trailer.
As you’d expect, there’s also a fair degree of violence in this trailer with various limbs being cut off, and one fighter being bisected in a particularly gnarly fight. At the very least, Mortal Kombat 2 takes a very cartoonish approach, with the gore being pretty silly. That’s part of what made its predecessor so fun. Neither film appears to take itself very seriously, with this approach elevating the action and the more ‘serious’ nature of its subject matter.
Mortal Kombat 2 (2025) – First Trailer
Read: The Drifter review: a lush noir adventure that takes you ’round the twist
Based on this early trailer, it does appear Mortal Kombat 2 will follow the established canon of the game franchise, particularly with Cage’s appearance. Little context clues throughout the action suggest this version of Cage will also be corralled into the Mortal Kombat tournament with little hope, before unlocking his ‘superpowers’ to save the day.
Funnily enough, that’s the exact journey Lewis Tan’s Cole Young went on in the original film, suggesting the sequel will share a lot of the same DNA, although with some clever tweaks. Switching the focus to Cage, and having beloved actor Karl Urban in the role (hot off a fan-favourite performance in The Boys), makes a lot of sense. Given Young was criticised for being an uninteresting protagonist, and the weakest part of Mortal Kombat (2021), the shift could fix some of that film’s focus issues.
It also appears this sequel is going bigger and more ambitious than its predecessor, with some of its set pieces looking very fun and dramatic, with a much larger scale.
Another clever decision is bringing back Lawson’s Kano, given he operated as the soul of the original film, with his snarky quips and blokey Aussie attitude.
We’ll have to stay patient to see whether these tweaks will pay off, for a film that pays homage to its predecessor, while improving on the lesser-liked aspects of this adventure. Mortal Kombat 2 is set to land in Australian cinemas on 23 October 2025.
Also on ScreenHub: The Legend of Zelda live-action film casts its Link and Zelda
Nintendo has officially announced the first cast members for the live-action Legend of Zelda film adaptation, revealing Bo Bragason will play Zelda, and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth will play Link. The news was shared in a brief social post from Nintendo director Shigeru Miyamoto, who described an excitement about seeing both actors on the big screen in future.
