Photo credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
“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,” says producer Todd Garner of the upcoming sequel to the 2021 hit movie adaptation of the popular video game of the same name.
Based on the reaction of one longtime fan, the filmmakers accomplished their mission! “When I watched the first cut, I remember geeking out as a fan, just watching everything up on the screen,” says James Wan, back again as a producer and still a big fan of the game. “I remember thinking, ‘We’re actually building out this world, bringing these characters, the story and the world to life in the biggest way.’ I couldn’t be happier, and I think the fans are really, really going to enjoy this one! And it has to be experienced on the biggest screen possible, because everything about this movie is larger-than-life. This film is just so much fun to begin with, and it just takes it to a whole different level seeing it on a huge screen.”
In “Mortal Kombat II,” the fan favorite champions – now joined by Johnny Cage himself (Karl Urban) – 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. Once again directed by Simon McQuoid, the film also stars 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 says that he was delighted to find Karl Urban to play Johnny Cage. “I’ve loved everything he’s done throughout his career,” says McQuoid of Urban. “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.”
For screenwriter Jeremy Slater, tournaments, Johnny Cage, and listening to fans were most important while creating the story for the sequel. “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,” says Slater. For the sequel, the filmmaking team doubled-down on all the positive feedback they got from the fans, “creating an adventure with bigger stakes, crazier fights, and even more comedy and action.”
Video game co-creator Ed Boon, who also serves as an executive producer for the film, still has pinch-me moments when he sees his creation as a big movie set. “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,” says Boon. “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.”
The wait is almost over! “Mortal Kombat II” arrives in cinemas and IMAX May 6.
