The Boys star Karl Urban is reportedly in "final talks" to join Warner Bros. and New Line's Mortal Kombat sequel as Johnny Cage.

The upcoming film will act as a sequel to the 2021 reboot adaptation of the beloved fighting video game series, picking up from the cliffhanger in which the heroes of Earthrealm must regroup for their next fight against sorcerer Shang Tsung and his evil forces from Outworld. Scoring better reviews than the original, Mortal Kombat was a modest box office success and an HBO Max hit, with a sequel confirmed in January 2022.

Simon McQuoid, who directed the 2021 film, is set to return. Jeremy Slater ("Moon Knight", "The Umbrella Academy") wrote the screenplay for the sequel.

The casting of Karl Urban as Johnny Cage helps flesh out the upcoming story and gives fans hope for even more iconic characters to show up. Cage was sorely missed in the first film and was briefly teased at the end. This could lead to more missing characters, like Katana and Noob Saibot.

Cage was one of the original characters from the first “Mortal Kombat” arcade game in 1992 and has since become a central character in the series. The character is depicted as a vainglorious Hollywood action movie star with an extensive martial arts background.

Urban is currently starring in Amazon’s hit series The Boys, which recently wrapped production on its fourth season. The actor also appeared as Skurge in Thor: Ragnarok and Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy in Star Trek and its sequels.

Source: Press Release