Summary
- Jean-Claude Van Damme debuts in Mortal Kombat 1 as Johnny Cage, bringing his high kicks and cool demeanor to the uber-violent digital realm.
- Van Damme’s likeness and voice are featured in the game, fulfilling a longtime fan request from Mortal Kombat designer Ed Boon.
- Other Hollywood names, including Megan Fox, John Cena, and J.K. Simmons, will also appear in Mortal Kombat 1, which releases on September 19th.
Be warned: As is so often the case with Mortal Kombat, the following footage contains intense violence, blood, gore, and strong language.
The high kicks and cool demeanor are unmistakable. Action icon Jean-Claude Van Damme has joined the world of Mortal Kombat in the upcoming video game Mortal Kombat 1, with several minutes of footage having now emerged and teasing what it will be like to fight and fatality with Van Damme. Check out the footage below courtesy of Mortal Kombat 1, but be warned, the clip features a lot of intense violence, blood, gore, and strong language.
Featuring both the likeness and voice of Kickboxer and Bloodsport star Jean-Claude Van Damme, the martial artist’s skills transfer perfectly from live action to pixels as the action movie icon plies his trade in the uber-violent digital realm of Mortal Kombat.
It was revealed back in May that Van Damme would join the group of fighters in Mortal Kombat 1, with longtime Mortal Kombat designer, producer, actor, and director Ed Boon revealing that he has been a huge fan of the Universal Soldier star for some time. And initially wanted to make Jean-Claude Van Damme: The Game.
“So we called his people…and I don’t know if he declined or it just never got to him or something like that,” Boon previously explained to Eurogamer. “But this is a couple of 20-something-year-old kids who wanted make a video game – I could see how Van Damme would go, ‘No, no, we’re not doing this’.”
Finally, Van Damme will join the ranks in Mortal Kombat 1, and Boon sounds as excited as the fans. “So we tried a number of times going back and forth with him,” Boon continued. “This time, we hit the lottery, and we got him. And we actually have his voice and he’s going to be the Johnny Cage character, and it is the absolute full-circle moment that we had.”
RELATED: Jean Claude Van Damme Is Completely Insane According to Director Peter Atencio
Jean-Claude Van Damme Joins Megan Fox, John Cena & J.K. Simmons in Mortal Kombat 1
Amazon Prime Video
Jean-Claude Van Damme is far from the only major Hollywood name to feature in Mortal Kombat 1. The game has been confirmed to star Megan Fox as Nitara, with J.K. Simmons reprising the Invincible role as Omni-Man, and John Cena reprising the role of The Suicide Squad member Peacemaker.
Jean-Claude Van Damm’s Johnny Cage will be included in Mortal Kombat 1’s launch-day Kombat Pack DLC, available as part of its Premium Edition, arriving on 19th September for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch and PC.
As for the big screen return of Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2 is all set to be directed by Simon McQuoid from a script written by Jeremy Slater. The sequel will see the return of Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Mehcad Brooks as Jackson “Jax” Briggs, Tadanobu Asano as Raiden, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi, aka Scorpion, and Joe Taslim as Bi-Han, aka Sub-Zero.
Mortal Kombat 2 will also see Johnny Cage join the battle, with The Boys and Star Trek Beyond star Karl Urban taking on the role of the fan-favorite fighter.
You can view the original article HERE.
