A lot of people don’t like Cole Young, but he should not be replaced by Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 2. The upcoming Mortal Kombat 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2021 film that rebooted the movie franchise. Even though the first film brought Mortal Kombat back to the big screen after 24 years, it received underwhelming reviews.
A lot of fans didn’t like the first movie because it followed Cole Young, a character not from the video games, and didn’t include an actual Mortal Kombat tournament. However, it seems like the sequel may learn from the first film’s mistakes and could be the Mortal Kombat movie fans have been waiting for.
Since Johnny Cage is one of the most popular characters from the video games, fans are obviously excited to see him in the sequel. In fact, a lot of fans believe he should replace Cole Young as the main character of the movie franchise. However, I would rather see Liu Kang replace Cole Young in Mortal Kombat 2.
Cole Young Looks Set To Be Replaced By Johnny Cage As MKII’s Main Character
Johnny Cage Will Likely Steal The Show In Mortal Kombat 2
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly ahead of the release of Mortal Kombat 2, Ed Boon, the movie’s producer and the co-creator of the video game, teased that Johnny Cage will be the audience’s lens in the sequel. Therefore, it seems like Cole Young may be sidelined in the movie after recruiting Johnny Cage to be one of Earthrealm’s champions.
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After serving as an underwhelming and unentertaining lead character in the first film, there are several ways that Mortal Kombat 2 can fix Cole Young.
Johnny Cage is a very popular character from the video game and Karl Urban, who will portray him in Mortal Kombat 2, is an incredibly charismatic actor. Because of this, it’s understandable that the sequel would make him the main character, rather than the unpopular Cole Young. However, Liu Kang would be a much better choice to replace Cole Young in Mortal Kombat 2.
Johnny Cage Isn’t Mortal Kombat’s Real Main Character
Liu Kang Is Earthrealm’s Main Champion In The Video Games
Since Liu Kang is the main character in most of the Mortal Kombat video games, it was surprising that he only had a minor role in the first film. The first film shows that Liu Kang is an extremely skilled fighter and even lets him use his (incredibly cool) dragon fatality, but it unfortunately doesn’t suggest that he will be Earthrealm’s main champion.
It seems like the movie’s creative team are much more interested in Johnny Cage and other characters, rather than the true main character of the video game franchise.
In the video games, Liu Kang is the one who defeats both Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn. Since both of these characters will be major villains in Mortal Kombat 2, it would make sense for Liu Kang to emerge as Earthrealm’s hero.
However, there is practically no mention of Liu Kang in the aforementioned preview of Mortal Kombat 2 from Boon and the movie’s director, Simon McQuoid. Therefore, it seems like the movie’s creative team are much more interested in Johnny Cage and other characters, rather than the true main character of the video game franchise.
Mortal Kombat Wasted Liu Kang – Can The Sequel Fix It?
Liu Kang Is Still Positioned To Be An Important Character In Mortal Kombat 2
Even though Boon and McQuoid didn’t talk about Liu Kang in the preview of Mortal Kombat 2, he could still potentially become the main character of the movie. Even though the spotlight wasn’t on him in the first film, Liu Kang is still fighting alongside Earthrealm’s other champions. Therefore, him fighting either Shang Tsung or Shao Kahn in the sequel is not out of the realm of possibility.
Liu Kang was wasted in the first movie, but Mortal Kombat 2 could redeem this by giving him some fights against important Outworld villains. If Cole Young is getting sidelined, perhaps Liu Kang will get more attention in the sequel. Since he is the true main character of the video game franchise, I would love to see Liu Kang get more screen time in Mortal Kombat 2.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
