Karl Urban Turned 'Mortal Kombat II' Into An Unofficial 'Lord Of The Rings' Sequel

Still on a high from his tenure as Billy Butcher on The Boys (2019), Karl Urban erased concerns fans had about him playing Johnny Cage upon the debut of Mortal Kombat II (2026). Leaning into his natural comedic timing and ability to convey snarky arrogance like the best of them, Urban proved—once again—that he excels at campy fun and over-the-top violence. However, Urban also used his role as Johnny Cage to inject a The Lord of the Rings reference in Mortal Kombat II. 

Urban played Éomer in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003). Although it's a relatively small role, Éomer is still an important character who helps turn the tide of battle at Helm's Deep, among other accomplishments. While this sparked Urban's inspiration for the LOTR reference, which he improvised, it's more than just a wink-and-nod moment; it actually stems from a realization that Urban had about The Lord of the Rings and Mortal Kombat.

Karl Urban Considers' LOTR' & 'Mortal Kombat' A Similar Story

While speaking to IGN, Urban explained that he started noticing similarities between LOTR and Mortal Kombat. "When we were making [Mortal Kombat II], that, like, I recognized a lot of the character archetypes that sort of were just similar to those in Lord of the Rings. You know, Raiden is your Gandalf, and then you've got members of the Fellowship, you know, in the Earthrealm team. And so, I just started throwing Lord of the Rings stuff out there…"

It's an interesting observation on Urban's part, and if you take a step back, it makes sense. J.R.R. Tolkien essentially pioneered modern fantasy, so anything falling into that realm automatically pulls from Tolkien—whether intentionally or not. Looking at the Mortal Kombat franchise, you'll find a similar story to the one Tolkien crafted about a team of heroes fighting back against a Dark Lord who just so happens to use a piece of jewelry that makes them even more powerful. 

Rewinding ever further in the Mortal Kombat universe reveals that Shinnok fell from grace and was sent to the Netherrealm, much like the Valar banished Morgoth to the Timeless Void in LOTR. After, Gandalf and the other Wizards/Maiar came to Middle-earth to aid the free people with Sauron's rise to power, similar to how Raiden and the other protector gods help Earthrealm raise a force against Shinnok. 

Karl Urban's 'LOTR' Reference In 'Mortal Kombat II' Is Perfect

With all the similarities between Mortal Kombat and The Lord of the Rings, Urban's biggest LOTR reference isn't just clever; it's well timed. In Mortal Kombat II, Emperor Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) is the big bad, who uses the Amulet of Shinnok to obtain immortality. This results in a reluctant Johnny Cage teaming up with Kano (Josh Lawson) and the spirit of Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion (Kiroyuki Sanada) to retrieve the amulet from the Neatherrealm. 

When Cage finally gets it, Kano's insistence that it must be destroyed sparks a snarky remark from Cage. "Oh, here it is," he says, flipping the amulet over and pretending to read instructions, "One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them…" This, of course, harkens to the famous line from The Lord of the Rings. 

It made for quite a meta moment. As Urban said to IGN, "And I just got off on the fact that I was in [The Lord of the Rings], and it's a movie within a movie, and yeah, somewhat self-aware, a bit of a nod, a bit of cheeky wink." Considering that Mortal Kombat II positions Johnny Cage as a washed-up action star, who knows? Maybe in this universe, Cage played Éomer in The Lord of the Rings. Now, that's really meta.