For Simon McQuoid, directing Mortal Kombat II gave him the opportunity to revisit the world he had brought to life in the 2021 film Mortal Kombat. The fourth live-action iteration of the iconic video games franchise, that released in cinemas on May 8, bands together an eclectic cast and has Johnny Cage (played by Karl Urban), who joins other fighters in a no-holds-barred battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn, a powerful tyrant who threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.
“I got to know so much about the world and the lore of Mortal Kombat while making the first film, and I realised we could really take on the maximalist spirit the franchise has. In Mortal Kombat II, I wanted to give the characters greater emotional journeys to go on. I wanted a simple but primal emotional drive to the story and add a massive spectacle,” McQuoid revealed at a virtual press conference for select global media, including t2, in the run-up to the release of the Warner Bros-produced biggie.
Joining McQuoid were actors Karl Urban (Johnny Cage), Adeline Rudolph (Kitana), Jessica McNamee (Sonya Blade), Mehcad Brooks (Jax), Ludi Lin
(Liu Kang), Josh Lawson (Kano) and Desmond Chiam (King Jerrod) as well as Mortal Kombat video game co-creator Ed Boon.
AN ACTION-PACKED WORLD
When asked what it felt like, as the OG creator of this universe, to see Mortal Kombat II coming together, Ed Boon shared: “It was surreal. It expands the game in all three dimensions. The characters that we thought of are now represented by actors who brought their own flair to it.”
The new film has larger female representation, with Adeline Rudoph as Kitana, Ana Thu Nguyen as Sindel and Tati Gabrielle as Jade, stepping in as principal characters. There is, of course, Jessica McNamee’s Sonya Blade who joins in from the 2021 outing. “For me, it was important to have a balance in terms of female representation in this film. That is why we have Kitana, Sindel and Jade stepping in. Sonya was there with all the dudes in the first film and this one was about bringing in the other women and using them to play to their strengths. It was easy for me because it needed to be done,” said McQuoid. “These (women) characters have held their own in the games and they do so in the movie as well,” was the word from Adeline Rudolph who slips into the corset of fiery warrior-princess Kitana.
“It was such a relief to have more women in this film!” laughed Jessica. “I walked off the set of the first film having become a dude myself! In Mortal Kombat II, the dynamic was totally different... it was way more balanced.”
Karl Urban is known for stepping into physically demanding roles seamlessly, but playing Johnny Cage is a completely different ballgame altogether. In response to a question posed by t2 as to how Mortal Kombat II pushed him to the limits of his physical and emotional endurance, The Lord of the Rings actor said: “Coming into Mortal Kombat II was, hands down, the most challenging physical undertaking that I have ever embarked on. The skill set required was an exponential learning curve that I had never encountered before. I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little bit terrified... I was stepping into a movie with martial artists who are accomplished.” Urban added that he plunged into preparing for the part from the get-go, “without wasting a minute”. “I landed in Brisbane and got driven straight to a stunt rehearsal session. Like, I still had my bags! And I was like: ‘Okay, here you go!’”
Urban pointed out how he and his castmates understood the importance of what it meant to be such an indelible part of the world of Mortal Kombat. “This is a film that has been made by fans. The cast felt the responsibility of that and invested a significant amount of time and energy into training. We are supremely delighted with the end result.”
It was next Ludi Lin’s turn to talk about whether he, as Earthrealm’s warrior-champ Liu Kang, had a favourite fatality move. Lin left it to Ed Boon to talk about it, with the latter — taking care not to give out spoilers — revealing: “He does this fantastic fatality move with these two dragons when he is fighting Shao Kahn (played by Martyn Ford). Awesome move!”
Mehcad Brooks, playing Jax, weighed in on what was more challenging — getting into character or the martial-arts training required for the role. “There is a bit of a Venn diagram there... it is a bit of both. Part of getting into character is knowing your fighting vocabulary.”
THE ART OF COMBAT
For Desmond Chiam, who slips into playing Jerrod, when asked about a character he would have loved to play other than his own, the answer came straight and simple: “That would have to be Noob Saibot (played by Joe Taslim), but he is taken already! As Jerrod, the answer that everyone is possibly expecting is Ermac (Jerrod’s soul resides within the composite entity Ermac), but that is someone I actually don’t play much of.”
So which Mortal Kombat character from the game did the actors imagine/ play years before they landed their roles in this film? While Brooks said he “used to dress up as Scorpion for Halloween five or six years in a row,” Ludi confessed that he would “freeze people like Sub-Zero!” For Urban, Sub-Zero was also a pick, but he also said he loved Kung Lao. “That hat... it is just the coolest!”
For Josh Lawson, who plays Kano, the answer couldn’t be anything else but Johnny Cage. “What I love about Johnny is he feels so anachronistic in the game... this is a world of monsters and superpowers, and then there is this Hollywood actor, and I find that so funny. Johnny just really appeals to me!” he laughed.
Which was cue for Johnny Cage aka Karl Urban to talk about the kind of improvisation that he and Lawson did on the set of Mortal Kombat II. “Josh is supremely adept at improvising, he just comes up with the funniest shit all the time. It forces you as an actor, not only to be in the moment, to listen, but then also to up your game. The most fun that I had in this movie was sparring with this guy!”
