Written by Fire 7 – Published on July 29, 2025
Christmas came in July for many diehard Mortal Kombat fans and even general audiences when the first official movie trailer for the second installment in Mortal Kombat’s new cinematic universe was released on Thursday, the 17th. The feedback has been overwhelmingly and predictably positive, even breaking the record for the most-watched red-band trailer of all time. But as with any property that has gained a massive fanbase, it should come as no shock that a nearly equal measure of criticism arose after the initial moment of excitement settled.
As a long-time fan, myself, who even had the pleasure of being present at the birth of the Mortal Kombat craze when the first video game hit the arcades in 1992, and who is still a proud member of the “kommunity”, with the ability to be unbiased and critical when necessary, I would like to highlight some of these relatively universal critiques, even based on the very limited peek we were given through the filmic window of the trailer.
And no, I’m not referring to Jade’s bald head. The radical change in the staff wielding, green-garbed fatale’s appearance in the new film may be grounds for a series of roundtable discussions and a congressional hearing, by itself, spotlighting an issue that’s deeper than anything we can tackle in this short article or what any production team has the ability to change in less than three months’ time. I’ll simply withhold judgement until after seeing the movie. We won’t even get into Baraka’s “flimsy” teeth or his voice that sounds a little “too human”, though I will say that, overall, the spiked nomad looks better than he has in other live-action iterations. Both Jade’s and Baraka’s avatars have room for improvement, but that’s not what I’d like to discuss here. No, I want to address some of the other criticisms that are equally ubiquitous but wouldn’t require any reshoots, delays or major supplemental budgeting. These are just a few minor elements that would be small improvements if implemented, but if done correctly, could enhance the film’s quality, or, at least, make it look significantly more polished by the time the film debuts in October. Without further ado, I would like to suggest, to any directors, developers or producers involved, 3 things to refine before Mortal Kombat II hits theaters.
1. Johnny Cage’s Retro Footage
I should preface this first number on the list by saying that not enough is currently known about the film to say whether the timeframes in it run linear or if they jump around, so this section is largely based on an assumption, but the principle still stands.
Many fans were unnerved by the casting of Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. Known for being young, fit, athletic, and “good-looking”, a 52-year-old actor who’s not conventionally known for possessing any such qualities being chosen to embody Cage on screen was understandably unsettling to long-time fans of one of the most endeared characters of a beloved property.
One thing, however, that the actor does share with his new fictional counterpart is star power. Not an A-lister, by any means, but current and likeable, nonetheless. For all we know, the movie’s storyline may have been shaped to fit Urban into its universe as much as he fits as Billy Butcher in that of The Boys, which, by all appearances in the trailer, adds up a little more than initially suspected.
An older Caucasian male with charisma, celebrity, and a great acting career, who totes a healthy portfolio of action films, seems to be a suitable candidate to embody a charming, however older and washed up version of a Caucasian, male, once celebrated action star. A creative choice that once bewildered many now seems to have compelled them towards a greater appreciation of the decision. This version of Mortal Kombat is obviously an Elseworlds take on the original live-action adaptation of the 90s, and even the video games. One that’s made drastic changes to characters, seemingly without a second thought. With such being the case, Karl Urban feels true-to-form in this universe. Of course, that still doesn’t mean we have to like abrupt deviations from the source material, but more so, something we’ll accept for the sake of enjoying the greater fun of this film. However, our maturity and intellect still deserves respect.
The teaser trailer for Karl Urban as Johnny Cage was, understandably, not to be taken seriously. Nor did it specify which version of Johnny it was depicting. Considering it did say “Coming in October 2025” at the end of it, we have yet to detect how much of it was satire. Only assuming, based on the trailer, that flashbacks could be present in this movie, I think that not making a visual distinction between young Johnny and old Johnny in such an instance could hurt the film, making it feel more like a low-budget TV show or a fan film; in essence, small in scale when the film is headed for the big screen. I’m, admittedly, not in the filmmaking business, so I don’t know every aspect of digital art. However, I do know that while a sophisticated and expensive form of CGI, de-aging actors is very possible, not only because it was done in Avengers: Civil War, Avengers: End Game, Indiana Jones, just to name a few movies, but also because there are subtle, alternative and less costly methods of achieving the same result.
We, the audience, understand that in fiction, more than in any other movie genre, suspension of disbelief is required, to an extent, but when too much sacrifice of logic and rationale is demanded from us, it takes us out of the movie and ceases to be fun. Immersion is what we want in our movies. That is the point of Fantasy; to escape into another world; a world that may be far-fetched but engaging because of how well it’s put together. In the clip of Johnny Cage in the bar scene, a fan says to him, “I’ve loved Citizen Cage since I was a kid”. This fan, himself, appears to be in his 30s. Suppose you throw a 52-year-old into what’s meant to be footage of himself at 20-something and ignore the impracticality of him having looked the same at 20 as he does at 52. In such a case, expecting us not to question it would not only insult our intelligence and infantilize us as viewers, but it would also force us into stress-inducing mental acrobatics in an effort to deny that it looks cheap and lazy. Ultimately, it would rob us of the full immersion experience.
We, the fans, have made a compromise to accept Karl Urban as Johnny Cage in this universe, but we now ask you to meet us halfway and make this world believable where possible. With even similarities between Urban’s hairstyles as Johnny Cage in this film and BIlly Butcher’s in The Boys, a good way to prevent the actor from being seen as Butcher cosplaying as Johnny Cage would be to de-age him in any footage of Johnny Cage’s past self. This would not only let us see a young and vibrant Karl Urban—even if digitally imposed—but would also add more depth to the film and earn respect from the audience.
2. The Portal Stage and Other Backdrops
Part of the Mortal Kombat video game lore has always been its beautiful and intriguing backdrops. Truly, some stages in the series have been as memorable as its characters, which is why it was such a natural response for fans to be disappointed over the environments that were depicted in the 2021 live-action adaptation. From Goro being unceremoniously killed off in the back yard of a family home to Kano being taken out in the front yard of a living trailer, to Outworld looking like a random desert void of color, population and creativity, it’s not a stretch to say that nothing was fascinating or iconic about any of the backdrops in Mortal Kombat (2021).
To the delight of many who saw the recent trailer, the backdrops have clearly been upgraded this time around. The world feels bigger from the visuals, alone. The only grievance I’ve heard has been about the green screen problem that’s plagued live-action adaptations of Mortal Kombat since 1995. The complaint, put simply, is that it’s all too obvious that it was filmed in front of a green screen. It may have even been filmed on a blue screen, but the point speaks to a lack of believability.
I haven’t found any major background issues like the cardboard cutout look of some scenes in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, or the infamous curtain in the sky behind 1995’s version of Shang Tsung’s Nethership. However, one of the stages that has stood out to me, in this film’s trailer, is the iconic portal stage behind Liu Kang and Kung Lou. It looks befitting of the scene and is beautiful in concept, but I can’t help but think of a laptop screensaver whenever it appears on screen. It seems like it just needs a little more pizazz to it. A spark. A touch more depth and realism. Whatever can be done to it, it just needs to look like it’s more a part of the world they’re in rather than a computer generated backdrop. As does Sky Temple and other environments in the movie.
3. “Finish Him!”
One resounding accolade I’ve heard for what’s been seen of the film, so far, has been the vastly improved look of Shao Kahn over other live-action versions—yes, we’re looking at you, Annihilation. Okay, there are some saying that it still can’t touch Jeffrey Meek’s portrayal of Kahn in Mortal Kombat: Conquest, and my personal favorite was the emperor’s ancient, imposing, larger-than-life appearance at the ending of the 1995 adaptation, but this version may be a close runner-up to those epic interpretations of the Outworld ruler. And Martyn Ford as Shao Kahn was a casting choice that I can’t extol enough for its perfection. However, one thing that is missing, at least from the trailer, is the Kahn sound. Yes, Shao Kahn has a sound.
Even in the original Mortal Kombat movie, Shao Kahn sounded demonic and frightening, probably because he was voiced by seasoned voice actor Frank Welker, who, of course, voiced Dr. Claw in Inspector Gadget and Goro in the same 1995 film. Welker was great at making monsters sound like monsters. In contrast, viewers described Brian Thompson’s portrayal of Kahn as “weak” and “whiny”, even though the actor had a naturally rich baritone voice. In the first video game, we attributed the announcer’s voice to Shang Tsung, who had a buttery smooth tone even as he demanded the winner to “Finish Him”, but in later games, Shao Kahn brought a deeper inflection as the new announcer, imbuing more terror into his commands and taunts. His voice was as aggressive as his shoulder charge and as impactful as his war hammer, and even his laugh was so iconic that, to this day, it’s mimicked by influencers like Tyrone Magnus, who does a spot-on impression, I must say.
While Ford may have the perfect frame to embody Shao Kahn’s stature, I can’t speak to his acting chops, but when I heard him yell out that classic line in the trailer, I immediately felt that it lacked the power of Kahn in the games. In fact, my first thoughts were, “His words sounded jumbled,” and “that didn’t sound convincing,” before hearing other reactors voice the same sentiment about this uninspired version of “Finish him!” No slight to Martyn Ford; I’m sure he’s a great guy. I’m only speaking of the performance from what we were shown in the trailer, which is quite reminiscent of Scorpion’s vapid and heavily accented “Get over here!” in the 2021 movie trailer, which garnered a comparable amount of criticism. Shao Kahn’s voice should embody a calm confidence with a powerful bravado. In the end, Shao Kahn stands as an all-time favorite among fictional villains, and he deserves a strong and charismatic presence in live-action. How well Ford plays the role in this film has yet to be seen by many, but please, at least liven up his delivery of such an iconic line as “Finish Him!”
It’s unmistakable that Mortal Kombat has a massive and loyal fanbase and an aura that yet attracts new admirers. No wonder, as it remains the best-selling fighting game of all time, and, thirty years later, the 1995 film is still mentioned among the best of video-game-to-live-action movies. More than just a spectacle of blood, gore and fatalities, its storyline and characters who are nearly as famous as Superman and Mr. Fantastic, helped to make it the cultural phenomenon that it remains today. It’s a property that should be handled with care and treated as if it belongs on the big screen, because it does. The new trailer brought on criticism as much as it brought the hype, but people only critique what they care about. In any event, one thing is for sure, what a great feeling it is to have another chance to say, “It has begun!”
