When the latest film adaptation ofMortal Kombatlanded in theaters back in April 2021, the idea of getting together with a group of strangers for extended periods of time was still a fresh concept as we slowly emerged from a pandemic spent at home. With that in mind, it was a decent outing that remixed certain parts of Mortal Kombat lore, while introducing many fan-favorite elements andcharacters. Now, thedebut trailer for Mortal Kombat 2has arrived and I’m already far more excited about this one.
Why?Johnny f***ing Cage, of course. The most glaring omission in Mortal Kombat was the complete lack of Johnny, with the original character Cole Young (Lewis Tan) subbing in and coming to represent the eyes of the viewer.
However, I do have one concern. What’s going to happen to Cole Young? The first movie spent a couple of hours working hard to convince me that not only was he the hero of the story, he was the hero of Mortal Kombat. He was seemingly just a normal guy, pulled into the legendary fighting tournament in order to save his family.
Wait, How Did The First Movie End?
To protect the planet from being conquered by Outworld, Cole, Sonya Blade, Jax, Kano, and a handful of other familiar Mortal Kombat names take the fight to Shang Tsung and his minions. Cole targets Sub-Zero, who kidnaps his family. In the movie’s climactic battle, Cole unleashes the soul of his ancestor Scorpion to fight Sub-Zero to the death, saving them.
As the movie comes to an end, Cole heads to Los Angeles to find karate movie star Johnny Cage – played by The Boys’ star Karl Urban – to begin training for the next tournament. There’s no mention of his family, which includes a very young child, before the credits roll. Surely, this amateur MMA fighter isn’t going to abandon his family to go find Johnny, right?
It seems we might never know. Not only does the trailer show that Cole isn’t the person to find Johnny, but he’s barely in it, and his family is nowhere to be seen.
Is Mortal Kombat 2 Killing Off Cole Young?
That’s definitely the vibe I get. When the star of the first movie is barely in the first trailer for the follow-up, instead replaced by a notable character from the game played by the star of a popular streaming series, I fear big changes are in the works.
There were previously rumors of Cole Young being killed off early in the film, though franchise co-creator Ed Boon continues to sing the praises of Cole actor Lewis Tan.
In the trailer, we see Raiden and Sonya find Johnny in a parking lot after what looks like a failed autograph signing. From there, they head to Outworld to begin training. Cole isn’t shown until over a minute in, already wearing the special power armor that he unlocked with his arcana in the first movie. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry; it doesn’t really matter. The gist of it is he has golden armor and sword hands.
That’s the only shot of Cole I can see in the entire trailer. Hilariously, Kano – a character killed in the first film – is everywhere, with no explanation of why he’s alive. He has a cool beard now, though. This might be a short preview of what’s to come, but it’s incredibly telling that the main character for the first film is barely seen in the first look at the sequel.
It’s Johnny Cage’s World Now And Cole Is Just Living In It
As much as I enjoyed Cole in the original film,killing him offwouldn’t be the most surprising development. With the arrival of Johnny Cage, the main set of Mortal Kombat characters we know and love from the games have assembled for a big showy fight. Cole was an entry point for an audience that may not be as familiar with the franchise. By the second movie, you should know what you’re getting from Mortal Kombat. That is, unless we’re dealing with another Mortal Kombat: Annihilation situation.
The thing that irks me about the potential death of Cole in the second movie, though, is the fact that he has a wife and a young child. It would be awful, plot-wise, to kill off Cole with audiences knowing his kid is now being left fatherless.
This is Mortal Kombat, though. If the gory, blood-soaked red-band first trailer for the second film reminds us of anything, it’s that grim endings could be around any corner. I just wish they hadn’t tried so hard to make me care about Cole and his family.
