Mortal Kombat is an American series of martial arts action films based on the fighting video game series of the same name by Midway Games. The first film was produced by Lawrence Kasanoff’s Threshold Entertainment.
The first film, Mortal Kombat, was released in 1995 and its sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, was released in 1997. After the two films, game publisher Midway filed for bankruptcy.
Warner Bros., having become the parent of New Line Cinema in 2008 (after over a decade of both operating as separate divisions of Time Warner), made a bid to purchase most of Midway’s assets, including Mortal Kombat. In June 2009, Kasanoff and Threshold sued in bankruptcy court, arguing that they owned the copyright to many of the characters from the series.
Originally slated to be a video game adaptation of the Jean-Claude Van Damme action film Bloodsport, when Midway Games failed to secure the necessary licensing, Boon and his co-creator John Tobias decided to retool their plans and instead created Johnny Cage as a spoof of the famous Hollywood martial artist.
Not only would Cage go on to become one of the original seven fighters in the 1992 Mortal Kombat game, but for a time he was the only character featured in early test prototypes.
The initial announcement of Urban’s casting in Mortal Kombat 2 served as a considerable salve for viewers who took issue with his exclusion from the first film, and his presence is currently one of the most exciting aspects of the project.
Moreover, it will be interesting to see how Urban’s take on the character fits in with Tan’s own protagonist, which many considered to be a Johnny Cage substitute. With any luck, studios may negotiate a swift resolution to the ongoing strike action and allow Urban and his co-stars to return to work on Mortal Kombat 2.
