A new deepfake video shows us what Jean-Claude Van Damme would have looked like in the1995 Mortal Kombat. In the first live-action movie adaptation of the popular video game series, Linden Ashby was the actor who played the role. Fans of the movie appreciate his classic performance, especially the way he delivers his line to Goro about $500 sunglasses.
Still, it’s hard for other fans not to wonder howMortal Kombatwould have turned out if it were Van Damme in the role. In fact, it wasJean-Claude Van Dammehimself who literally inspired the character in the original video game. While theBloodsportactor would star in theStreet Fighteradaptation released the prior year, his casting inMortal Kombatwasn’t meant to be, for better or for worse. In any case, you may see what Van Damme’s Johnny Cage would have looked like in the video below.
After Linden Ashby made the originalJohnny Cagea standout character in the firstMortal Kombat, the character was unceremoniously killed off in the beginning of the universally-panned sequelMortal Kombat: Annihilationwith Chris Conrad in the role. A live-action version of Johnny hasn’t been seen on the big screen ever since, not even with a newMortal Kombatadaptation from director Simon McQuoid releasing last month. The character was acknowledged, but Johnny didn’t physically appear in the movie.
If Mortal Kombat 2 happens, we will more than likely see Johnny Cage arrive. No actors have been attached to the role at this time, as the sequel is not officially in development. McQuoid has suggested that it’s up to the fans to decide if there will be aMortal Kombat 2, and as of now, it remains hard to say for sure. The movie drew in a lot of fans both in theaters and on HBO Max, but reviews have been rather mixed.
Should Johnny Cage get his chance to debut in a potential sequel, someWWE fans want to see The Miz get the role. This is because The Miz already looks and acts like Johnny, from the cocky ego to wearing his sunglasses indoors at all times. Meanwhile, Kano actor has suggested James Marsden as another option for the part, and many other fans have gotten behind this idea as well. Despite his age, some fans would even be on board to see Van Damme brought in as an older version of Johnny Cage.
Perhaps we won’t be seeing Van Damme delivering the Shadow Kick inMortal Kombat 2, but he’s not done beating people up just yet. The actor also stars in the upcoming action-comedy movieThe Last Mercenarywhich is set to be released on Netflix on July 30. Van Damme is also voicing the giant lobster clawed supervillain Jean Clawed in the upcoming animated sequelMinions: The Rise of Grufor Universal Pictures. If you want to revisit the originalMortal Kombatmovie with Linden Ashby, it’s streaming on HBO Max. The deepfake video comes to us fromStryder HD on YouTube.
