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"Mortal Kombat II" trailer: Karl Urban's Johnny Cage is ready to deliver some serious smackdowns

By Chris Morgan | Last updated Jul 17, 2025 4:33 PM ET

The trailer for the fictional, in-universe movie "Uncaged Fury" to help tease "Mortal Kombat II" was fun, but it was far from an effective endgame. It turns out it was just the warmup to get us prepared for them to drop the proper trailer to the actual "Mortal Kombat II." Check it out, but it is a "red band" trailer, which is to say they aren't messing around. Which is good. The embracing of the hard-R nature of "Mortal Kombat" has been the validating element of this franchise reboot.

Hey, we got a "Get over here!," a "Finish him!," and a dude being sliced in half hot dog style. That's giving the people what they want. Giving us some of Karl Urban as Johnny Cage early definitely makes sense now, because this trailer seems to indicate that Cage is either leading the ensemble or is the main character in "Mortal Kombat II." The premise at hand being, "What if somebody who was just a guy had to fight a bunch of magic people?" It changes the point of view for the franchise, and allows it to maybe be a bit lighter. But with plenty of gore, of course.

Not to say this movie is channeling "Big Trouble in Little China," a high-quality action-comedy, but there is certainly some Jack Burton in Johnny Cage. At least it doesn't feel like this one is merely more of the same.

"Mortal Kombat II" hits theaters on October 24.

Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.

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