Karl Urban Shares Why 'Mortal Kombat II' Was His Most Challenging Role

Karl Urban is opening up about his upcoming movie Mortal Kombat II!

The 53-year-old actor will be starring as Johnny Cage in the follow-up, which is based on the video game franchise, which was pushed back to release next year.

In a new interview, Karl dished on his role in the movie and revealed it was the most challenging of his career.

Keep reading to find out more…

“I asked for a heavy-action content movie, and for my sins, they gave me one,” he tells Entertainment Weekly. “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.”

For his prep for all the martial arts in the movie, he reveals he went to tournaments, and praised the team of stuntmen, choreographers and trainers.

“As part of my research, I went to karate tournaments and looked at the younger generation of martial artists coming through to see what it was like growing up in that environment, as I imagine Johnny Cage had done when he was a kid,” Karl shared.

Mortal Kombat II was previously scheduled to release in October 2025, but will now debut in theaters on May 15, 2026. Watch the trailer here!