A return of Mortal Kombat to the big screen came with the shock absence of Johnny Cage, but a new report claims the sequel is entering final talks to fill the coveted role of the moviestar turned martial arts hero. Read on for details:

Everyone from Ryan Reynolds, to WWE wrestler Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, and Kickboxer star Alain Moussi have discussed the role that was teased at the end of the 2021 film, but producer Todd Garner has confirmed the legitimacy of recently reported rumors that Karl Urban has entered final talks to don the $500 dollar sunglasses. He did so with a simple "yes", responding to a fan posting the article on Twitter.

Known for disappearing into his chameleonic performances, the Kiwi actor currently stars as punkish Billy Butcher in Amazon's streaming comic book adaptation, The Boys. He's previously featured as McCoy in the JJ Abrams directed Star Trek reboot, as Skurge the Executioner in Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok, Russian assassin Kirill in The Bourne Supremacy, and the starring hero of video game adaptation Doom.

Fans bristled at the disappearance of one of Mortal Kombat's iconic original characters, described as too similar to Kano for the 2021 cinematic reboot. The omission turned Cage into one of the most talked about characters in the series, expected to headline the next Mortal Kombat Legends animated featured: Cage Match.

Traditionally comic relief with legitimate martial arts chops; Cage matured into a lead protagonist when a timeline without most major heroes led him to join the Special Forces ranks for Mortal Kombat X, leading the defeat of Shinnok before daughter Cassie Cage inherited the role.

The cinematic adaptation has so far gone its own way, eschewing beloved established video game canon to tell a story built around original creation Cole Young (Lewis Tan), and the struggle against Shang Tsung (Chin Han)'s attempts to prevent the prophesied hero competing in the next Mortal Kombat tournament.

Simon McQuoid will return to direct the sequel, with new writer Jeremy Slater plotting to embrace MK's weird universe for the sequel. Rumors suggest the script will feature Shao Kahn, Kitana and Outworld, raising questions about whether or not we'll even see the iconic tournament in this big screen adaptation.

[Related: Review: Mortal Kombat Hacks Into Franchise Reboot]

What do you think about the prospective casting? How do you expect Karl Urban to play the role? Share your reaction in the comments below and find and discuss more movie news & speculation in the Media & Merchandise forum!

Like sand through the hour glass, so are the thirty years of Mortal Kombat! To celebrate the milestone year: NetherRealm Studios has shown gratitude to the fans, players, and developers with a special "Thank You" video featuring dozens of staff -- and what might be the first tease for what's coming next. Watch:

The 130 second clip features some minimally stylish 30th Anniversary design, with dozens of staffers paying homage to the occasion, whom Mortal Kombat Online would like to return thanks and acknowledgements to. Without you we wouldn't have had over a dozen fantastic games to enjoy playing and discussing for all these years!

As great as the history of the franchise has been, we're all looking forward to the future -- and after a few words from stalwart co-creator Ed Boon, we zoom into a structure to follow what appears to be grains of sand, falling until one grain is so close it appears huge -- before it explodes into a galaxy of tiny particles and fragments!

What does the teaser clip mean? It recalls the sands of time that were so important to Mortal Kombat 11 and left us with dangling questions about the future and distant past of MK's reality. Will the Fire God Liu Kang rewrite hundreds of years of history, will Shang Tsung direct the gods in a conquest of all realms, or are these just one of many conclusions that ripple outward across a multiverse of possibilities after Kronika's defeat?

Sand is the domain of Tremor, who returned in the animated alternate future of Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind, and Ed Boon described as "very very likely" to appear in the coming sequel. The Special Forces elemental powerhouse went to a "dream realm" in his Mortal Kombat X arcade ending, but could he have a major role to play in the next stage of kombat? It also recalls the life-like automaton Geras, who served the general theme of Time Keeper Kronika throughout MK11.

Series co-creator kicked off a fresh whirlwind of speculation when he broadcast a mysterious playlist to Twitter. Could this be the beginning of decoding a deeper meaning?

[Related Article: Ed Boon Technically Confirms Upcoming Game & More in Q&A]

We again thank the NetherRealm Studios staff in order of appearance in the Gratitude video: Kingston Lorenzo (Artist), John Vogel (Senior Artist, Cinematics), Jeremiah Waldron (Advanced Software Engineer), Brian Lebaron (Senior Designer), Dan Forden (Audio Director), Fuzzy Gerdes (Senior Producer), Derek Kirtzic (Lead Designer, Systems), Gage O'Connor (Software Engineer), Rich Carle (Director of Audio), Anthony Zeffiro (Senior Advanced Animator), Taro Omiya (Software Engineer), John Martinez (Senior Animator), Andrew Senesac (Advaned Animator, Facial), Jennifer Hedrick (Senior Character Artist), Mizra Baig (Lead Software Engineer), Dominic Gianciolo (Story/VO Director), Tyler Lansdown (Community Manager), Mike Taran (Lead Artist), Hannah Evers (Producer), Jonathan Andersen (Senior Production Manager, Designer), Steve Beran (Director of Art), Jay Biondo (SR Advanced Software Engineer), Dan Roth (Producer), Cole Krivoski (Producer), Kato Moritz (Associate Producer), Joe Berger (Art Director), Antonio Cendejas (Artist, Technical), Tony Goskie (Senior Artist), Josh Slingerland (Principal Artist), Mick Cielesz (Senior Designer, Systems), Ed Fedemeyer (Senior Software Engineer), Ryan Torrey (Senior Animator), Alex Bittner (Senior Animator), Joe Flores (Production Manager), The Environment Team, Quality Assurance Team, User Interface Team, Koretech Team, and series co-creator Ed Boon!

Join us in echoing thanks back to the developer in the comments below and share your thoughts about the details of the sandy teaser. Delve deeper into speculation and wishlists by heading into the Future Mortal Kombat forum!

Thirty years of references and cryptic clues have given Mortal Kombat fans some insight into the musical tastes of co-creator Ed Boon, but his latest playlist has everybody scratching their heads. It was broadcast via social media, with an alleged slew of inexplicable sound effects that might connect it with the upcoming game. Brace yourself, weary traveler. We're about to enter the speculation zone!

Roughly 2,900 curious listeners tuned in to a Twitterspace broadcast called "Zkplintflo" on Sunday, April 30th. Most heard portions of a nine song tracklisting, which included selections from Pink Floyd and The Beatles, but many also report hearing sound bytes from Mortal Kombat II or 3, and other unexplained sounds.

The alleged connection to Mortal Kombat makes this seem like another klassic case of Boon using pop culture references to tease upcoming projects. One of the songs heard -- Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody -- was part of 2020 teases for Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, and as many fans are accustomed to seeing, Prince's Purple Rain kicked things off. Find and listen to the tracklist below:

1. Prince - Purple Rain
2. Pink Floyd - Mother
3. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
4. The Beatles - Let It Be
5. The Sylvers - Boogie Fever
6. The Police - Every Breath You Take
7. Snoop Dogg - Gin and Juice
8. Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall
9. The Beatles - The End

Song titles, artists, and lyrics could suggest a variety of characters, from frontrunners Rain, mother Sonya Blade, Queen Sindel, insect D'Vorah, silver haired Fujin and Raiden, policeman Stryker, drunken master Bo' Rai Cho, Mortal Kombat X's student fighters, to perhaps even Dream Realm visitors Tremor or Freddy Krueger.

These low hanging interpretations fail to explain the unusual title given to the broadcast, and don't rule out the possibility of deeper codes involving release dates, or album track listings. So far we haven't come up with anything, but it wouldn't be the first time.

Was this all just a case of an accidental 'butt broadcast', or is Boon back crafting cryptic headscratchers as we count down to the confirmed 2023 reveal of the next Mortal Kombat? Join the speculation in the comments below and share your hopes with us on the forums!

An as yet untitled sequel to the 2021 Mortal Kombat feature film is in development and rumors are beginning to swirl that filming will begin later this year. Amongst the emerging unsubstantiated reports comes claims of a short list of feature characters -- provided by the site that first revealed the existence of Cole Young. Read on for more info:

Last January's confirmed addition of writer Jeremy Slater brought with it promise of a sequel that would embrace the "weird universe" of Mortal Kombat, and according to an uncredited report from That Hashtag Show -- that means characters from the realm of Outworld!

The story of the Outworld throne and its merging with Edenia are at the heart of the rumored list of characters, which features Shao Kahn, "High Princess" Kitana, Queen Sindel,and King Jerrod -- players in the almost Shakespearean drama of Shao Kahn's conquest of the paradise-like realm, marriage to the Queen, and her subsequent death & resurrection.

Shao Kahn will reportedly be joined on the screen by Baraka, who is rumored to be the foe of Johnny Cage, until the "noble but terrifying" Tarkatan is impressed by Cage's fighting.

The casting-type character descriptions come with a broad search for males 30-50 in the two key villain roles, with Kitana described as a "solemn young girl who is scarred for life seeing her father and mother defeated by Shao Kahn. She’s full of rage about Kahn killing her father and imprisoning her mother." Shao Kahn's size appears to be the defining priority of the indiscriminate search. See the description below:

Shao Kahn
Shao Kahn is described as being from his mid-30s to mid-50s and can be any ethnicity between Asian, Black, Latino, Middle Eastern, Indigenous, Pacific Islander, or a mixed Ethnicity. He’s tall, muscular, and gargantuan in size. He’s a dangerous man with a weary dignity. The emperor of Outerworld, he kills King Jerrod, takes the throne, and turns his queen into an undead servant.

Baraka
Baraka is described as male, between 30 and 50, big, strong, and a Tarkatan village warlord. He has razor-sharp teeth, and although he starts off as a foe of Johnny Cage, he eventually joins his side after being impressed by his fighting. Don’t mistake his fearsome look for being a monster. He’s noble but terrifying.

The site also reports that Quan Chi will make an appearance, and that a kindly King Jerrod and Sindel will have to deal with Shao Kahn's coming. A loose adaptation of this backstory previously appeared in episodes of the Mortal Kombat: Legacy webseries, and was controversially retconned in Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath to cast Sindel as a willing participant in the betrayal of her realm.

[Related Article: Variety Discusses Mortal Kombat Sequel with Simon McQuoid]

In 2018 That Hashtag Show spoiled many of the characters who ultimately appeared in the 2021 live-action franchise reboot, including ill fated Nitara and Reiko, and controversial original creation Cole Young -- then cited as "Cole Turner". Some details never emerged and all of the rumors should be taken with skepticism and doubt.

Simon McQuoid will return to direct the sequel, with several returning cast members. Series co-creator Ed Boon recently expressed excitement in an online Q&A, noting: "Each iteration of the script is better than the previous!!"

Would you be excited to see these characters and plotlines featured in the big screen sequel? How will they factor in to the looming Mortal Kombat tournament and fated prophecy? Share your thoughts in the comments below and dig into more rumors in the Media & Merchandise forum!

We're getting used to hearing about Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. The action-adventure brawler has built a strong cult following among MK fans, including series co-creator Ed Boon, who is prompted to reference the game with increasing routine. His most recent firestarter is a social media poll asking fans how they'd prefer to see the 2005 game return. Read on for detail:

Shaolin Monks has become an annual fixture of interviews with Ed Boon, and the NetherRealm Studios Chief Creative Officer even triggered a viral trend when he included the game in a 2021 poll about prospective remastered versions of klassic Mortal Kombat titles.

This time Shaolin Monks was competing with itself -- or at least a hypothetical sequel. Boon asked fans to pick their preference between a modern HD remaster or a sequel of some undetermined type. The Twitter poll recorded 90,165 voters who narrowly decided a straight Remaster of the klassic was the preferable choice.

Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks needs a ....

— Ed Boon (@noobde) April 11, 2023

To date the Mortal Kombat franchise has resisted resting entirely on past glory, generating regular new installments in the franchise that revisit klassic characters and content, rather than indulging in the increasingly common industry trend of remastered games. A HD remake of the original trilogy has been a notoriously difficult project to get going., despite various attempts

Despite this drive forward -- it seems a narrow majority of 55.4% would rather return to the PlayStation 2 & Xbox game with modern hi-definition convenience, rather than indulge in an all-new, or spiritual sequel.

MK has generated three action-oriented genre spin-offs with mixed results. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Special Forces attempted to leverage the rich mythology and cast of characters to generate unique titles with original experiences, but it was Shaolin Monks' three-dimensional retelling of Mortal Kombat II that found the most success from its ambitious format.

With an engine originally conceived by X-Men: Mutant Academy developer Paradox Entertainment -- who became Midway Studios Los Angeles in the process; Shaolin Monks was described by Midway President David F Zucker at the time as: ".. our first step toward delivering something that Mortal Kombat fans have been calling for: a new game set in the Mortal Kombat universe every year".

As Creative Director, Ed Boon, and Mortal Kombat team regulars, became involved in shaping the spin-off title, which could've been a game starring Raiden, as revealed in a concept screenshot released by Boon. Instead the eponymous Shaolin Monks were chosen to lead a retelling of MKII popular with all developers concerned, creating memorable mechanics like Kung Lao's arena hat ricochet. The rest is history!

[Related Article: Ed Boon Talks Game Announcement, DLC & Characters in Q&A]

The original arcade Mortal Kombat is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary and a new fighting game installment is coming this year! Will we ever see another genre spin-off - new or old? Share your thoughts & wishes in the comments below and keep the conversation going in the Future Mortal Kombat Games forum!