Many of the best video games have bene released over the last few years, including Simon McQuoid's Mortal Kombat (which is streaming with a HBO Max subscription). That movie's sequel is nearly here, which will debut Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. The actor recently got real about bringing that beloved character to life... including his signature nut punch from the games. Let's break it all down.
Mortal Kombat II's trailers teased the epic action that's on its way, and fans of the long-running video game franchise are hyped to see various beloved moves brought to live-action. In a conversation with ComicBook, Karl Urban spoke about how challenging the movie's action was, saying:
I think my biggest concern was the challenge. You know, and this was, without a doubt, the most difficult physical challenge that I’ve ever encountered in making a movie. And I’ve made a few. But this, the skill set required, it was like. And starting from scratch, starting with just learning how to move, agility, doing speed drills, then, you know, learning movement and form and style. It’s just everything is so specific and it’s not like a brawl where you can just sort of, you know, sort of, you know, push your way through it.
Urban has done a ton of action throughout his career, including his roles in genre projects like Star Trek, Thor: Ragnarok, and The Boys (the latter of which is streaming with an Amazon Prime subscription). Still, it sounds like Mortal Kombat II was on another level, which makes sense for those of us who saw the original movie back in 2021. But it was all worth it, as Urban has been teasing how "dynamite" the forthcoming sequel will be.
Fans of the games are looking forward to seeing Johnny Cage's signature powers brought to life on the big screen, and he's confirmed that the signature nut punch has made its way into the movie. He revealed he went into the splits to pull off the movie, saying:
I will say I was not injured. Almost injured. Yeah okay, I did do the splits.
Honestly, that's epic. Not only is Johnny Cage's signature punch in the movie, but Urban actually pulled it all off himself. So when folks see the nut punch happen in the theater, they can be rest assured that 53 year-old actor was indeed the one making it happen. What a badass.
All will be revealed when Mortal Kombat II hits theaters on May 8th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Hopefully more sequels are ordered, allowing even more of Johnny Cage on the big screen.
