Karl Urban is reportedly being lined up to play Johnny Cage in 'Mortal Kombat 2'.
The follow-up to the 2021 big-screen video game adaptation will see Simon McQuoid directing again, and The Wrap now reports that the star of 'The Boys' is in talks for the role of the Hollywood actor.
Linden Ashby and Chris Conrad previously portrayed Cage in the 90s films.
It was hinted at in the post-credits scene for the first movie that Cage would be returning to meet up with Cole Young (Lewis Tan) in Hollywood.
Co-creator of the series, Ed Boon of NetherRealm Studios, previously teased that he had read some "exciting scripts" for the sequel.
When a fan asked for an update on the second film in the reboot series in December, he simply replied on Twitter: "Read exciting scripts!"
Australian director McQuoid made his debut behind the camera on the 2021 film and he'll be back for the the second flick.
'Mortal Kombat' is based on the popular video game and is a reboot for the film series after two movies were released during the 1990s.
The first film topped box office figures and ranked among the most popular films on the streaming service HBO Max.
The flick was one of the first to gauge the interests of audiences as cinemas reopened following the pandemic and the results came as a surprise to many.
Studio executives were quick to get a sequel in development and one of their first acts was to get McQuoid back on board as director. Jeremy Slater is writing the screenplay for the sequel.
The first 'Mortal Kombat' game was released in 1992 and spawned a hugely successful series.
McQuoid is a trained graphic designer who has worked in the video game industry on titles such as 'Call of Duty' and 'Halo 3'.
He previously banned any talk of a sequel on the set of the first film.
He said: "None of us used the S-word. We’d never talk about it in any depth whatsoever because we feel like we have to put all our energy into this film.
"That being said, if the fans want another one, that’s not for us to decide; that’s for the fans to decide.
"Then, we need a couple of joiner pieces that we know can lead us somewhere because there’s a treasure trove of stuff that’s just sitting there."
