Johnny Cage Story Reboot In Mortal Kombat 2

Johnny Cage will finally make his screen debut in Mortal Kombat 2, the relaunched movie franchise. However, given the decisions made regarding the new protagonist of the series, the fan favorite’s introduction may not go as smoothly as it could have. The Mortal Kombat movie from 2021 got mostly negative reviews, which was partly because some of the creative choices made when adapting the video games into a movie were somewhat bold. The film included new elements to the canon that weren’t in the original work, such as Mortal Kombat’s Arcana powers. Mortal Kombat’s past could hurt its future, especially with a sequel in the works.

Cole Young From MK1

Cole Young from Mortal Kombat was created from scratch specifically for the 2021 film. While Cole’s Arcana abilities and golden armor are somewhat inspired by accepted mythology, they did take some artistic license. Many people feel that a pre-existing character from the Mortal Kombat universe would have been a better choice, which is why the decision to have a new character lead the Mortal Kombat revival has drawn criticism. Thankfully, Karl Urban joins the Mortal Kombat 2 cast to play the iconic Johnny Cage. Whether it’s too little, or too late, is still to be seen.

Cole Young Likely To Recruit Johnny Cage In MK2

The conclusion of the Mortal Kombat film from 2021 makes a strong hint that Cole Young, played by Lewis Tan, will be the one to enlist Johnny Cage. Though it’s more likely that said recruitment would take place in between franchise chapters than onscreen, Young will still seek to reinforce Earthrealm’s soldiers because he knows the conflict hasn’t ended. Given that he is one of the most well-liked characters in the video game series, Cage probably ought to have appeared in the first film. Therefore, there is at least a direct link to the protagonist of the novel because Cole enlisted him.

How The Role Of Johnny Cage Will Be Depicted In MK2? 

How Urban’s Cage will interact with Cole is presently unknown, as The Boys star is capable of playing both more wholesome heroes and quite harsh roles. Considering Cage’s persona in the games, Urban will probably have to employ a variety of acting techniques to convincingly and faithfully recreate the character on film while paying homage to the original work. Fortunately, Urban’s skills take this concern out of the picture at least, and now everyone is focused on whether the authors can handle the assignment.

Johnny Cage’s Role Was There In MK1

Although Johnny Cage won’t be in the 2021 Mortal Kombat film, Tan’s character has multiple instances when it seems like Cage served as Cole Young’s model. For example, none of the two men knows anything about Mortal Kombat at first because they are outsiders. Furthermore, Cole delivers a few lines that are packed with humor akin to what a live-action Johnny Cage might provide.

Not to mention the fact that Cole’s abilities are comparable to those of Johnny Cage. Both characters are adept at hand-to-hand combat, and Cole even gains a significant defensive advantage thanks to his Arcana. While Arcana is absent from the games, Johnny Cage’s defensive prowess is enhanced in the original material. It thus becomes unclear if Cage will inevitably have Arcana skills that are just extremely comparable to Cole’s. If so, it might indicate that the franchise erred in selecting Cole as the protagonist who already had Cage’s onscreen abilities.

Cole Young From MK1 And Johnny Cage From MK2 Might Not Mix Well Together

Cole Young and Johnny Cage have a lot in common, so there’s a chance that their combination in Mortal Kombat 2 won’t be very satisfying. Karl Urban’s portrayal of Cage has a lot of fans excited, so it would be a major letdown if he had to cover the same terrain that Cole did in the first film. To keep things interesting, hopefully, the writers have something unique in mind. If not, it would appear like a bad idea to introduce Cole Young as the new protagonist of the franchise.

Since Cole’s skills have been established and Johnny Cage’s have not, one option would be to significantly alter Cage’s live-action talents. While some fans may find this undesirable, at least it keeps the experience from being monotonous to watch two characters that are remarkably identical in a universe where so much diversity is conceivable. However, it’s also feasible that their parallels spark a fierce and fascinating competition in Mortal Kombat 2.