The Boys’ Karl Urban Reveals ‘Most Challenging Role’ of Acting Career

Mortal Kombat II star Karl Urban explained why Johnny Cage is the “most challenging role” of his career.

What did Karl Urban say about shooting Mortal Kombat II?

In Mortal Kombat II, Urban will portray one of the most beloved characters from the video game franchise, Johnny Cage. Now a washed-up action movie star, Johnny Cage is recruited to join Earthrealm in the battle between dimensions known as Mortal Kombat.

Urban is used to action sequences from his time on The Boys. However, Urban revealed how his role in Mortal Kombat II became one of the biggest tests of his life.

“I asked for a heavy-action content movie, and for my sins, they gave me one,” Urban said in an interview with EW. “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.”

The official synopsis for Mortal Kombat II reads: “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.”

Besides Urban, Mortal Kombat II stars Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada.

Simon McQuoid returns to direct Mortal Kombat II from a screenplay by Jeremy Slater. The movie is based on the Mortal Kombat video game by Ed Boon and John Tobias. Mortal Kombat II is the sequel to 2021’s Mortal Kombat.

Mortal Kombat II hits theaters on May 8, 2026.

Originally reported by Dan Girolamo on SuperHeroHype.

Source: Comingsoon.net