I Did A Deep Dive Into Why Mortal Kombat II Didn’t Make Johnny Cage And Sonya Blade A Couple So You Don’t Have To
While the genre struggled history, some of the best video game movies have hit theaters over the past few years. One of these is definitely Simon McQuoid’s Mortal Kombat, which was released in 2021 (and is currently streaming with a HBO Max subscription). The sequel Mortal Kombat II is in theaters now, complete with Karl Urban’s scene-stealing Johnny Cage. And I just had to ask the cast why Johnny and Jessica McNamee’s Sonya Blade didn’t end up starting a romantic relationship in the movie, despite their history in the games.
Critics have been praising Mortal Kombat II, and now fans can judge for themselves since the R-rated sequel is in theaters. I’ve been a fan of the games for years, and was surprised that the new movie didn’t establish Johnny and Sonya’s love story. As you can see in the video above, I spoke to the cast ahead of the movie’s release, where Karl Urban spoke about that narrative developing in possible sequels. In his words:
That is an element of the evolution of Johnny Cage and Sonya’s story that I very much look forward to play. I think that that’ll be a fun extra dynamic to add to the ingredients. And, you know, evolve these characters beyond just sort of like a work relationship or a fighting tournament relationship. I’m definitely down for that. I think it’d be great.
I’m sure fans would feel the same. Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade are arguably Mortal Kombat‘s biggest couple, with the pair even having a daughter Cassie Cage in the more recent video games. But McQuoid showed restraint with this in Mortal Kombat II, while also bringing back dead characters and including iconic stages, moves, and characters from the games.
The ending of Mortal Kombat teased Johnny Cage’s arrival, and Karl Urban took center stage in the sequel, alongside Adeline Rudolph’s Kitana. But Sonya and Johnny had plenty of scenes together, developing a mutual respect in the process. Jessica McNamee told me that them not instantly falling in love was actually at the suggestion of MK creator Ed Boon (who has a cameo in the new movie). As she put it:
I think Ed [Boon] specifically asked for that not to come into play in this movie. I don’t think he wanted Sonya’s whole journey to just to be about finding a man, you know? Which is great. I am sure if we continue to make them, that that will be something that we get to explore and I wouldn’t mind making out with Karl Urban. So sure.
I respect that, honestly. And the fact that they weren’t rushed into a romantic relationship will likely make it feel more earned and organic if it happens in a future sequel. Besides, Johnny had enough going being thrown into the conflict of the movie and helping to save Earthrealm alongside the other fighters. Love probably wasn’t at the top of either character’s mind.
McNamee joked about wanting to kiss Karl Urban, but she went on to share excitement for bringing Sonya and Johnny’s relationship to life in a possible sequel. As she shared with me:
I think it was cool that they didn’t just dive straight into that. And I’m sure yeah, it’ll, there’ll be a payoff when that the time comes.
Fans like me would definitely love to see this R-rated franchise going, especially after seeing how much Mortal Kombat II was accurate to the source material. A threequel hasn’t officially been ordered just yet, so it might depend on how Simon McQuoid’s sequel performs at the box office. Fingers crossed it does well and we get to see more gnarly fatalities on the big screen.
Mortal Kombat II is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. The first film is streaming over on HBO Max, although it’s missing the scene-stealing work of Karl Urban’s character.
