The Boys' Karl Urban will be Johnny Cage in the upcoming Mortal Kombat 2, Screenrant reported.

Joel McHale, Community star and the voice of Johnny Cage in two Mortal Kombat animated movies, said he's excited for Urban's casting. Johnny Cage is a movie star/martial artist who becomes an Earthrealm defender in the sequel to the 2021 live-action movie.

McHale will return to play Cage again in the upcoming animation, Mortal Kombat Legend: Cage Match. He told ComicBook.com that he's a fan of Urban's character in The Boys, saying, “[It's] perfect casting. He's one of the better actors around. My sons and I watch The Boys religiously, so yeah, he's perfect.”

Johnny Cage: movie star and Earthrealm defender

Johnny Cage was one of the new characters teased to be in the sequel before production started. In the 2021 movie's ending, Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) tasked Cole Young (Lewis Tan) and the other Earthrealm champions to round up new champions to fight Shang Tsung's (Chin Han) crew before the next tournament starts.

Cole sets out on his own and goes to Los Angeles to fulfill his task. The film then sets up Johnny Cage's involvement as the audience is given a glimpse of one of his movie posters.

Karl Urban's casting has fans eagerly anticipating his take on the brash, immature and occasionally annoying Cage. His turn on The Boys as Billy Butcher, leader of the titular group and Homelander's arch-nemesis has fans keen to see how he portrays the actor-turned-fighter.

Johnny Cage, one of the central characters of Mortal Kombat, initially accepts the role of defender without truly understanding what it means. For him, it was a way to prove himself as a real fighter and garner hype for a publicity stunt. He does the right thing in the end, but it's his journey in getting there that audiences are excited to see.

From Middle Earth to Mortal Kombat

Casting Urban as Cage is as impressive as the actor's credits. The New Zealand actor was Eomer in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, so he can give Cage the gravitas when needed.

He was Vaako in the Riddick movies so he can fight. And as for comedy? The man was Leonard McCoy in the Star Trek reboots and Skurge in Thor Ragnarok.

But with the current SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP stalemate, fans will have to wait to see Urban's Cage until late 2024 or early 2025.