Jean-Claude Van Damme was offered the role of Johnny Cage in the very first Mortal Kombat game decades ago, back in the early ’90s. He was at the height of his career during those times and gained mainstream attention when he became the lead actor in the movie “Bloodsport.”
If you look at the very first Johnny Cage sprite from the old Mortal Kombat games, you’ll notice that Daniel Pesina, Johnny Cage’s old sprite model, was wearing an outfit similar to what Jean-Claude Van Damme wore in “Bloodsport.” Ed Boon always wanted Jean-Claude Van Damme to play Johnny Cage in any kind of media, but during the ’90s, he was too popular and expensive.
Decades later, in 2023, Jean-Claude Van Damme finally agreed to play the character designed after him. He will be available as a downloadable skin for Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 1. You might be wondering why he’s only available as DLC; that’s because there will still be a default Johnny Cage model that does not resemble Jean-Claude Van Damme for people who don’t prefer the likeness.
I’m still not sure if Jean-Claude Van Damme is voicing Johnny Cage for that special skin, but he does have a different voice actor from the default Johnny Cage model in Mortal Kombat 1. Johnny Cage usually has a bodybuilder physique, but in Mortal Kombat 1, he was leaner to make him more similar to Jean-Claude Van Damme in the film “Bloodsport.”
Jean-Claude Van Damme Mk1 trailer
I admit, I was a little disappointed with this skin because he’s stuck in one outfit, and you cannot change what he wears. Also, he doesn’t look like a young Jean-Claude Van Damme. I still see features of his default Johnny Cage model.
The Nitara character model, played and voiced by Megan Fox, looks exactly like Megan Fox. The Homelander character model, who is also part of the game’s roster, looks exactly like Anthony Starr. The John Cena Peacemaker DLC character looks like John Cena and will be voiced by John Cena, looking exactly like him.
But this Jean-Claude Van Damme… Johnny Cage still needs some tweaking to make him look like the real actor. I do hope that they can fix this character’s skin before the final release because he looks nothing like the actor. This is supposed to be Ed Boon’s dream come true, but he really needs some tweaking because he looks nothing like Jean-Claude Van Damme.”
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