‘Mortal Kombat II’ premieres in theaters this weekend

(CNN, KYMA) - The sequel to 2021's "Mortal Kombat" lands in theaters this weekend, and the cast talk about the upcoming movie.

New challengers approach with "Mortal Kombat II," based on the video game franchise as Karl Urban brings popular character "Johnny Cage" into the story.

"It was a lot of fun and [the studio] gave us a lot of runway to play with, and [director Simon McQuoid], he does not need much runway to land a ship...he lifted everybody's game," Urban shared.

"That sort of chemistry is impossible to manufacture, you just don't know if it's gonna happen or not," McQuoid added.

"We have been friends for a very long time. So it's like, so it'd be it just from the jump, being able to do this with her was like, 'Ah...yeah. Okay.' And then, I think that we just had a lot of fun in finding our relationship like between 'Jade' and 'Kitana' and exploring what that could look like, how far could we take it?" said Tati Gabrielle, who plays 'Jade' in the upcoming film, when talking about her off-screen friendship with Adeline Rudolph, who plays 'Kitana.'

The cast got to do a good amount of their own stunts.

"We do a lot of it. Everything that they will let us do, we do it. And then also, we have the most incredible fight choreographers, the most incredible stunt people in the world," said Mehcad Brooks, who plays "Jax."

"Mortal Kombat II" premieres in theaters Friday, May 8, 2026.