Mortal Kombat II is putting a major spotlight on Karl Urban’s debut as Johnny Cage, but one retcon has already been revealed. Ahead of the sequel’s announcement, it was always known that Johnny Cage was going to appear. After all, the reveal that he exists is the entire point of Mortal Kombat‘s cliffhanger ending.

2021’s Mortal Kombat ends with the champions of Earthrealm realizing that they will have to recruit more fighters to win the upcoming tournament. So, the final scene reveals that Cole Young is heading to Hollywood. When asked “what” is bringing him there, he responds that it’s more of a “who” before the camera pans to a Johnny Cage movie poster.

It was ᴀssumed that the second film would follow Cole on this quest and have him be directly responsible for recruiting Urban’s character to fight for Earthrealm. Mortal Kombat 2‘s trailer has shown the washed-up action movie star who is brought into the Mortal Kombat tournament as he’s recruited and thrown into the action.

Mortal Kombat II has already made some pretty big changes to the first film, with Cole Young seemingly playing a much smaller role and several characters getting altered designs. That’s all overshadowed how the sequel has retconned the first film’s ending.

Mortal Kombat 2’s Trailer Leaves Cole Young Out Of Johnny Cage’s Recruitment

Cage’s recruitment has already been revealed, with the Mortal Kombat II trailer featuring this scene. As it turns out, Cage is recruited in a parking garage by Sonya Blade and Lord Raiden. The surprise comes with Cole being nowhere to be seen. This is a major retcon, as it seemed like Cole was going to be the one actively working on getting Cage on board.

It could be revealed that Cole has already attempted to recruit Cage, and Sonya and Raiden’s attempt is an alternate method. Based on the trailers so far, however, it seems like the sequel is either ignoring Cole’s plan or that he failed on his mission.

Cole is seen in the background of a sH๏τ with Cage, confirming that they do link up at some point in the movie. But this clearly takes place after Johnny has been fully brought aboard the Earthrealm fighting roster.

This is further evidence that Cole will have a minimized role in the sequel, something that has been theorized for a while. Negative reception to Cole Young’s role as the protagonist in 2021’s Mortal Kombat was prominent, with many fans hoping that a sequel would focus on a different character from the video games.

Now, Johnny Cage is seemingly replacing Cole Young as the series’ protagonist, relegating the latter to a supporting character. While this hasn’t been 100% confirmed, it is the prevailing expectation, making Mortal Kombat II more in line with the video game series at Cole’s expense.