From New Line Cinema comes the latest high-stakes installment in the blockbuster video game franchise in all its brutal glory, MORTAL KOMBAT II. This time, the fan favorite 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. Director Simon McQuoid returns to helm the follow up to his explosive 2021 cinematic adventure, from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater, based on the videogame created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The film is produced by Todd Garner, E. Bennett Walsh, James Wan, Toby Emmerich and Simon McQuoid, and executive produced by Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Jeremy Slater, Ed Boon and Lawrence Kasanoff.
Joining McQuoid behind the camera are director of photography Stephen F. Windon, production designer Yohei Taneda, editor Stuart Levy and costume designer Cappi Ireland, with casting by Rich Delia and music by Benjamin Wallfisch.
New Line Cinema Presents an Atomic Monster/Broken Road Production, a Fireside Films Production, MORTAL KOMBAT II. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, only in theaters and IMAX® across North America on May 8,
2026, and internationally beginning 6 May 2026.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Director / producer Simon McQuoid returns at the helm of MORTAL KOMBAT II, determined to meet the challenge head-on in creating an even bigger MK cinematic event for fans and moviegoers. Reflects McQuoid: “It’s been a really interesting creative process, doing one film and being able to learn from that—the things we did well, and the things we, and I,
maybe didn’t do quite as well. We were adamant about bringing all of those learnings to this. Our sort of mantra was, ‘How can we expand this, really blow things out of the water and take a really big step up?’ That’s been a tremendous learning and creative process for me personally and immensely satisfying. I was thrilled to come back.”Says producer Todd Garner:
“Our north star for MORTAL KOMBAT II was to make sure that we outdid the first movie—we learned from the fans and the
audiences—and in this, I believe we outdid the first in every respect.”
In MORTAL KOMBAT II, the visceral, high-octane global phenomenon is catapulted to the screen in an action adventure that once again finds Earthrealm turning to a team of warriors as it faces a decisive battle against enemies from Outworld. The
journey begins when fan favorite Johnny Cage learns of his true destiny: to join a group of chosen warriors and prepare for a match far more deadly than anything he’s seen before.
Comments producer E. Bennett Walsh: “At the end of the first film, we leave Cole Young saying that he’s off to Hollywood to find Johnny Cage. So that was an important ingredient for this film, to introduce Johnny Cage to the audience. His character arc is very developed and defined. We first meet him in one of his early action movies at the height of his fame, cutting then to a convention center, where he’s washed up and signing autographs. This really is the cornerstone of the story.”
Director McQuoid says that he was delighted to find Karl Urban to play Johnny Cage: “I’ve loved everything he's done throughout his career. Johnny is a very broad character and Karl had an innate ability to take the material and put his weight behind it, whilst also understanding the comedy and pushing it out when necessary. But it’s also a very sincere, honest story of this guy who’s fallen from grace and you feel for him. That’s a really nice quality that Karl was able to bring to the role.”
Per producer Wan: “We knew going into this one that we could have a lot of fun with Johnny Cage. I think what makes his character so endearing and why people love him is that he’s kind of just like one of us. He really doesn’t know this world. He’s a B-movie action star, like a lot of us grew up with in the ‘90s. He’s fun in that nostalgic way. We get to sort of make fun of him, but also ultimately really embrace him.”
When we first meet Cage, he’s a very dispirited character. Says Karl Urban: “His career is in the tank, and he’s fallen on hard times. When Sonya Blade and Raiden seek him out and tell him that he’s been drafted into the role of defender of Earthrealm, he’s entirely reluctant to get involved. He has a complete lack of self-esteem. So, the journey for Johnny is one of how he finds himself, how he finds his inner power, and becomes the Johnny Cage the fans love in the gaming world. He was a great character to play.”
Part of staying true to the game required the filmmakers to lean into its unabashed brutality, knowing at its core it’s about two worlds at war, carried out in a solely hand-to-hand manner. “It’s a key element of Mortal Kombat” says McQuoid, “but
the great thing about these characters is that once you know them, and their motivations, the fighting is as meaningful as it is unapologetic: you pick your favorites and you really care about what happens to them.”
Observes producer Garner: “Our screenwriter, Jeremy Slater, understands Mortal Kombat as well as anyone and really knew what the second movie had to deliver to be the best version of Mortal Kombat. He drilled into the tournament aspect of Mortal Kombat, which hasn’t been done in a movie since the original in and really took into account all of the fan favorite characters, which he then put into the most emotional and satisfying story he could.”
Echoes McQuoid: “Jeremy’s a super talented guy and a joy to work with. One of the big things that came up very early in our discussions was the tournament aspect. But I didn’t just want it to be a straight tournament—I wanted this other layer, this heist element. That would allow for all of these characters—and we have a lot of them this time—to be doing important things for the story. So, the tournament story and the heist really intertwine. And, above all, we really wanted a story, intimate and personal with these characters, that audiences could connect with on a purely emotional level. We have amazing fights, dazzling worlds, but only if there’s a connection with the characters, which we have and Jeremy crafted so well.”
Screenwriter Jeremy Slater says: “We knew we had to deliver on the two promises that were made at the end of the last movie: the tournament is coming, and Johnny Cage will be one of the new characters joining our roster. Beyond that, I was
given an extraordinary amount of creative freedom to design the most exciting and satisfying adventure possible for our fans. We also had the benefit of being able to analyze all of the fan feedback to the first movie. For example, we knew the fans loved how much care was taken to replicate the important details of the world: the authentic casting, the accurate costumes, and all the specific moves and bloody fatalities taken right from the games. They also liked the film’s twisted sense of humor and its big, crowd-pleasing hero moments. So, for the sequel, we decided to double-down on all of these areas, creating an adventure with bigger stakes, crazier fights, and even more comedy and action.”
Per producer Wan: “I think the biggest thing about the second movie is that now, there’s a tournament. This one is bigger in scope and scale. We wanted to delve into more characters and also go into the Netherrealm, and this time we had the resources to really accomplish that. This is built upon these great characters, this huge world, and I think the fans deserve this. I think the reason Mortal Kombat has lasted so long is because of these interesting, colorful characters, who are so exciting and fun in their way. And we just wanted to do everything right.”
Says producer Walsh: “In this film we formalised the action around a really big tournament and that was probably the most important thing we wanted to do. And of equal importance—in the game, there are currently around 100 characters. We wanted to bring more of those characters into this film, so we have 18 main characters.” Notes video game co-creator and executive producer Ed Boon: “From my and the team’s perspective, it’s always surreal seeing these characters that we created so long ago portrayed on the big screen. They endured through all the years in video games, and now, seeing them on real sets, with huge crews working. It’s such a big production that every once in a while, I have to just remind myself where this came from. The film is just overwhelming in the most positive way. It’s so exciting to see something expanded in every dimension. We absolutely never envisioned that Mortal Kombat would get this big. Once upon a time, we were very excited when they made a home version with a television commercial for it. That was about as big as I thought it
would ever get. But now, seeing it become a part of pop culture with these big movies…
It’s just the greatest.”
Explains Slater: “It’s always difficult to juggle such a large roster of characters, especially when you have such incredible actors bringing them to life. After all, everyone has their own favorite character from the games, and we want all of our fans to leave the theater satisfied! But we also knew we had to fit a tremendous amount of story and action into a feature-length movie, so we were always aware that certain characters would get more screentime than others. In the end, we decided to focus on Johnny Cage and Kitana as our two primary storylines. Johnny is obviously one of the icons of the Mortal Kombat universe, and we knew we had to do justice to his character. And we knew that Kitana’s story would be equally compelling. Her tragic backstory and her quest for revenge provides so much heart and emotion to the movie. Together they’re
an unbeatable duo!”
Shao Kahn, played by Martyn Ford—one of the biggest villains of all time—looms large over all the tournaments. His power only grows as he conquers realm after realm. Standing in contrast to his sheer might, his adversaries—the heroes of MORTAL KOMBAT II—are immediately cast as underdogs. Martyn Ford was a perfect fit for the role of Shao Kahn. Explains director McQuoid: “Martyn is six-foot-eight and about that far across the shoulders! He has dedicated his life to his impressive physique. He brought a physicality and a presence to the role that was outstanding. He stood out, literally, beyond anyone else that I saw for the role. At the same time, he is a fantastic, lovely guy, hilariously funny and also
incredibly dedicated and hardworking.”
For Martyn Ford the role was “a dream come true. Shao Kahn is such a great character. He’s the emperor, the kingpin. He is evil and deceptive, but also something of a genius. He badly wants to be the emperor of every realm he comes across, to drive his ego and cement his place in history. I had so much fun with him.”
The emotional story in the film centers around Kitana, played by Adeline Rudolph. Comments McQuoid: “Kitana’s journey is the emotional heart of this film. We begin with her father, King Jerrod, being killed at the hands of Shao Kahn. She watches
this as an eight-year-old. So, that opens our movie–a historical moment in the Mortal Kombat lore. Twenty-five years later, we find Kitana and see the effect that her father’s death has had on her. She has been plotting revenge against Shao Kahn the whole time. The clock starts ticking when Shao Kahn decides to invade Earthrealm and it’s time for another tournament.”
Adds Boon: “The universe of Mortal Kombat is effectively controlled by a tournament. It’s a tournament that determines which realms will survive. At the end of the day, it comes down to combat. It comes down to one-on-one fighting.”
Emphasizes Slater: “As any Mortal Kombat fan can tell you, the games have a staggering amount of mythology, with multiple timelines, full reboots, and literally dozens upon dozens of characters. That’s why I relied on Ed Boon and our great
partners at Netherrealm Games for guidance. Whenever we had any sort of question about the mythology or what the fans most wanted to see, we knew we could go straight to the experts who actually created those stories! Ed and his team were instrumental at guiding us through every stage of the journey to help deliver a movie that truly lives up to the fans’ sky-high expectations.”
THE CAST AND THEIR CHARACTERS
Karl Urban plays the iconic Johnny Cage: “When we first meet Johnny Cage, he’s a very dispirited character. His career is in the tank, and he’s fallen on hard times. He’s not in a great way at the beginning of our story. The journey for Johnny through
this movie is one of how he finds himself, how he finds his inner power. It was a fantastic script from Jeremy Slater, and it takes Johnny on a big journey, and I was drawn to that. As part of my research, I delved into the culture of martial arts and martial arts tournaments, because that’s where Johnny grew up. And then when I landed at the airport to start filming, they picked me up and drove me straight to a stunt rehearsal, because the stunt choreography was such a massive undertaking. So, from day one, I was thrown in at the deep end. We had an extraordinary stunt team—one of the best I’ve ever worked with—and I’m very grateful to all of them. I’m super excited for the audience to see what we came up with!”
