It's looking increasingly likely that the next Mortal Kombat movie has found its Johnny Cage: Karl Urban. While there's no denying that the actor has range, his latest stint on The Boys means that many are struggling to see him as anything other than a cockney geezer, and certainly not as a Hollywood strongman. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't any Mortal Kombat roles that suit him.
Even if they're not overly enthusiastic about him playing Johnny, fans think he'd the the perfect Kano. And honestly, can't you see it? By just swapping out the cockney (or his native New Zealand) accent for an aussie one, Urban would be the perfect casting for the villainous, foul mouthed, merc. Fans don't even care if it doesn't make sense, given that Kano died in the last movie. Many of them are willing to overlook that if it means getting this perfect casting.
This casting was pitched on Reddit by user ElementalSaber, who also suggested that Urban could play Kabal, However, everyone seems way more taken with the idea of him as Kano, for obvious reasons.
Of course, it's not like we should let death get in the way either. Death is usually just the beginning of a character's story in Mortal Kombat, anyway, what with the afterlife being a realm you can pop in and out of (as long as you can fight your way past a lot of baddies). With that in mind, we can't rule out another Kano appearance, whoever's playing him.
Of course, we already got a Kano in the last movie, played by Josh Lawson. While the 2021 film was a bit of a miss with fans of the game series, Lawson's performance was largely seen as the best part, and certainly one of the most entertaining. It remains to be seen if Lawson signs on again - or if Kano is set to appear at all.
In fact, given that we know that we're getting Johnny Cage, that might be a pretty good indication that Kano will be sitting this one out. Back in 2021, producer Todd Garner said that there simply isn't enough room for two huge egos in the same movie, making it impossible to cram Johnny into the first film. I mean, hey, I'm no expert, but the 1995 film managed to get 'em both in. Just saying...
In any case, it seems that Ed Boon has given Urban his blessing to play Johnny Cage. Given the actor's range, he has a good shot at making it work, too.